On January 11, 2025, the official opening of the VIII will take place at the Sanctuary of San Damiano in Assisi
Centenary of the Canticle of the Creatures. A text capable of connecting people of every religion, ethnicity, and culture, continuing to make Saint Francis a man of dialogue, reconciliation, and forgiveness. A truly inclusive man and saint, as we would say today.
The birthday of the Canticle of the Creatures
This year, the Canticle of the Creatures turns 800 years old, yet its freshness and relevance continue to inspire everyone. Its spiritual and, at the same time, exquisitely human spirit makes it a text that opens wide the doors of our inner selves and encourages an ever-new perspective on creation and on the human being who inhabits it and is called to care for it and for himself or herself as part of it.
The place of inspiration
It is 1225. Francis, who has experienced the stigmata on Mount La Verna, decides to spend some time at the monastery of San Damiano. The place where it all began. The place where the Lord asked him to “repair his House,” the place where he began his mission by restoring an abandoned church, the place where Clare began to live the Gospel together with the first Poor Sisters.
The inspiration of darkness
Considering the light radiated by this composition, one might imagine a Francis who, immersed in nature’s splendor, raises his praise to the Creator for the beauty of creation on a sunny spring day. Instead, the condition in which the Little Poor Man writes this hymn is completely different. Francis is almost completely blind, his nights are tormented by a thousand pains, and yet, one morning like any other, after a vigil filled with unspeakable suffering, the Saint opens the eyes of his soul wide and composes the hymn to the wonder of the most beautiful creation of all time.
A catechesis on catechesis
The condition in which the Little Poor Man composed the Canticle of the Creatures becomes both an example and a lesson, together with the Canticle itself. In this year, thanks to the centenary celebrated by the Franciscan Family, we are invited to rethink and reconsider, carefully and continually, our relationship with creation and with ourselves; the very condition in which Francis composed it can become a reason for reflection and meditation.
What can it say to our lives, our struggles, our discouragement, and our problems that a sick and blind man allowed himself to be shaped by God to the point of praising him in every created thing at the height of his suffering?
An opportunity not to be missed
The centenary of the Canticle of the Creatures, together with the grace of the Jubilee, is truly an opportunity not to be missed to put what really matters back at the center of our lives and look at the world with new eyes. This year, let us not miss the opportunity to be more attentive to our common home, more respectful of ourselves and others, and more aware that together we are both “masters” and “guests” of planet Earth. Will you take up the challenge and the invitation?
The Order of Friars Minor has made materials available, which we are sharing to help everyone who loves Saint Francis and the Canticle of the Creatures make the most of this important moment.
• The Canticle of the Creatures • The Canticle of the Creatures (Italian)
• Guidelines • Charismatic Cores • Logo
