Five Ways to Celebrate St. Francis’s Feast Day in Italy

The Day after Pope Francis's election, Piazza San Francesco a Ripa. ©Tiffany Parks

Since I live on a street dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, and since I can see a church dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi right out my bedroom window, and since my darling Maritino and I were married by a Franciscan priest, and since our current ever more lovable Pope chose his papal name (many believe) to honor St. Francis of Assisi, I figured it would be a good idea to write a little post today on 4 October, on occasion of the feast day of one of Italy’s all-time best-loved saints.

Instead going into St. Francis’s life andworks, which I’m guessing most people are already familiar with, I thought I’d suggest five ways to celebrate his feast day, and five different Italian cities in which to do it.

Assisi

Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, Assisi. [source]

As the saint’s hometown, this is the obvious choice. In fact, this is where Pope Francis himself decided to celebrate St. Francis’s Day, so expect a lot of crowds if you choose this option. Besides the sheer majesty of the 13th-century basilica, one of the most important fresco cycles of the great Giotto di Bondone, and in fact one of the most celebrated works of art of that magical period when the buds of medieval art began to blossom into the Renaissance. 

The Woman's Confession, Giotto. Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, Assisi. [source]

The Dream of the Palace, Giotto. Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, Assisi. [source]

San Francis receives the Stigmata, Giotto. Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, Assisi. [source]

The 28 frescoes that line the lower section of the nave of the Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi tell the story of the saint’s life and are believed to have been painted between 1296 and 1304. Bonus: an even earlier portrait of St. Francis, by late-medieval master Cimabue, can be seen on the transept wall. The fresco, Our Lady Enthroned with St. Francis, dates to 1280 and features one of the most well known depictions of the saint.

Our Lady Enthroned with St. Francis, Cimabue. Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, Assisi. [source]

The basilica also contains the saint’s tomb.

Tomb of St. Francis of Assisi. Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, Assisi. [source]

Florence

Basilica of Santa Trinità, Florence. [source]

If you prefer high Renaissance art to late medieval/early Renaissance crossover art, and you happen to be in Florence today, you’re in luck! Head to Santa Trinità church where you can visit the Sassetti Chapel, containing an exquisite fresco cycle by Domenico Ghirlandaio (who just happened to be Michelangelo’s first master, and one of the painters of the walls of the Sistine Chapel). The fresco, dating from 1482-1485, depict several scenes of St. Francis’s life, including the receiving of the stigmata, the confirmation of Franciscan rule, and the resurrection of a boy.

Confirmation of Franciscan Rule, Ghirlandaio. Church of Santa Trinità, Florence. [source]

St. Francis's Trial by Fire, Ghirlandaio. Church of Santa Trinità, Florence. [source]

Death of St. Francis of Assisi, Ghirlandaio. Church of Santa Trinità, Florence. [source]

Chiusi della Verna

Santuario della Verna, Chiusi della Verna. [source]

Not many tourists make it to this tiny little town in the province of Arezzo, but if you’re in the general area today, consider a visit to the Santuario della Verna, just a few miles outside of town. In addition to its evocative setting, perched on an outcropping of Mount Penna, the sanctuary is also renowned for being the site at which St. Francis received the stigmata, on 14 September 1224. You can also visit a small museum attached to the sanctuary where you can see St. Francis’ rough habit, slightly moth-eaten, but still intact.

Habit of St. Francis of Assisi, Santuario della Verna, Chiusi della Verna. [source]

Subiaco

St. Benedict's Monastery, Subiaco. [source]

This gorgeous hilltop town, famous for its medieval Benedictine monasteries, is not generally associated with St. Francis of Assisi, but there is one notable curiosity for those seeking to pay homage to the saint today. In St. Gregory’s Chapel in the Monastery of St. Benedict is only known portrait of St. Francis painted during his lifetime. The portrait shows neither halo nor stigmata, showing it was indeed painted before the saint’s death in 1226. If you want an idea of what he actually looked like, this is probably as close as you’ll come.

Portrait of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Gregory's Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery, Subiaco. [source]

Rome

Church of San Francesco a Ripa, Rome. ©Tiffany Parks

 

If you’re in the Eternal City today, never fear! You don’t have to travel anywhere if you want to make a St. Francis pilgrimage of your own. The church of San Francesco a Ripa in Trastevere is attached to a convent that housed St. Francis when he was in Rome in 1209 seeking recognition of his order by Pope Innocent III. If you ask the custodian nicely (and if your shoulders and knees are modestly covered!) he’ll happily take you up to the very cell St. Francis slept in, complete with the very stone he used for a pillow, which visitors are allowed to touch.

The rock St. Francis used as a pillow, Cell of St. Francis of Assisi, Church of San Francesco a Ripa, Rome. [source]

While you visit the church (which by the way also contains Bernini’s late masterpiece The Ecstasy of the Beata Ludovica Albertoni), take a moment to wallow bitterly in the knowledge that this unassuming little trasteverina church once contained, along the walls of the nave, the prototype of the legendary Giotto cycle in Assisi. The frescoes depicting scenes from the life of St. Francis, attributed to Pietro Cavallini, are sadly now lost. “Now lost”: two words that inspire the wrenching of hearts and gnashing of teeth of many an art lover.

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La Festa de' Noantri, the festival of the Trasteverini

Festa de' Noantri procession, 1950s [source]

 

I remember that morning like it was yesterday: a bright mid-summer dawn, just weeks after moving into my dream Trastevere apartment. In a haze of grogginess and not enough sleep, I hear a booming, nasal voice. It's Sunday and seems impossibly early for whatever is happening, especially as it's happening right outside my bedroom window. 


I bury my head in my pillow as I hear a monotone voice bleating out of a loudspeaker. Yes, a loudspeaker. A half-blind glance at my phone shows it’s not even 7am. "...Madre di Dio, prega per noi peccatori..."

Madre di Dio, what the...?

This I had to see. I flop out of bed and stumble over to the window. "Ave Maria, piena di grazia..." the voice drones on. Opening the shutters, I peer below.

Festa de' Noantri, Via Garibaldi, 2010, Crazy o'clock AM

Festa de' Noantri, Via Garibaldi, 2010

Festa de' Noantri, Via Garibaldi, 2010

A procession, a full-on religious procession, was trundling past my window. There were priests, altar boys, a smattering of older ladies in somber dress. They were all doing a call-and-repeat version of the Ave Maria that I have since become much more familiar with. Oh, and they were carrying a gigantic statue of the Virgin Mary on their shoulders. One thing I have learned living in Italy is that Italians love the Virgin Mary. I mean, they love her more than Jesus. Or so it seemed to my then-non-Catholic self. I had almost literally stumbled upon the Festa de’ Noantri.

The pictures I've included here were not, of course, taken that morning, but four years later, when I was sadly packing up to leave that very same apartment and knew I was going to miss everything about it (besides the landlord).  Little did I know then that my new apartment would be on the self-same procession route. It’s actually not so improbable; the Festa de’ Noantri procession goes down practically every street in Trastevere.

For a little bit of historical background (and a break from my nonsensical reminiscing), the festival dates back to 1535 when, after a storm, a cedar statue of the Madonna was fished out of the Tiber (on the Trastevere side, let it be noted!). Exactly where the statue came from is still a mystery, but where it ended up is not. It was donated to the order of the Carmelites, and hence it became known as the Madonna del Carmine (although many still refer to it as the Madonna della Fiumarola, since it was found in the river). The statue was kept in San Crisogono, an ancient church in Piazza Sonnino, and was immediately considered the protectress of the trasteverini. The statue was eventually transferred to the unassuming church of Sant’Agata, right across the square.

Every July, the first Saturday after the 16^th to be precise, a major 8-day festival takes place in my beloved neighborhood to celebrate this “miraculous” statue (if you can consider a statue be fished out of a river a miracle). The original statue stays put in Sant’Agata (these days she’s too precious to move about), but a 19^th-century polychrome wooden copy is carried about to much fanfare and jubilation (and yes, they change her outfit every year). 

Festa de' Noantri, Pza San Francesco d'Assisi, 2012

Festa de' Noantri, Pza San Francesco d'Assisi, 2012

Festa de' Noantri, Via San Francesco a Ripa, 2012

After a goodly number of masses and benediction ceremonies, she is carried in solemn procession from Sant’Agata to the original statue’s first home, San Crisogono. But don’t think they just walk her across the square. That would be too easy. No, she is carried down Via della Lungaretta, Via della Luce and into Piazza San Francesco d’Assisi (where another celebration takes place), down Via San Francesco a Ripa, Via Natale del Grande, Via Roma Libera, and many more streets in Trastevere, until she is finally deposited at San Crisogono, where she stays for the duration of the festival.

Festa de' Noantri, Via San Francesco a Ripa, 2013

Festa de' Noantri, Via San Francesco a Ripa, 2013

Festa de' Noantri, Via San Francesco a Ripa, 2013

My friend Jill watching the procession from across the street

Then the partying begins: street concerts of traditional music (cue: Roma,nun fa’ la stupida sta sera), old folks literally dancing in the streets, stall selling porchetta in Piazza Sonnino, bersaglieri playing their trumpets while they run (seriously impressive), and endless shouts of “Evviva Maria!” to be heard at any time of day or night. At the end of the festival, the pièce de resistance is when hundreds of people line the river or stand on the bridges to watch the Madonna float down the Tiber on a boat at sunset, from Ponte Sant’Angelo to Ponte Garibaldi.

Madonna della Fiumarola, Ponte Garibaldi, 2012

Madonna della Fiumarola, Isola Tiberina, 2012

So why is it called the Festa “de’ Noantri”? The word Noantri is a dialectical version of “noi altri” (us others). This was a way the residents of Trastevere voiced their indignation at the phrase, “voi altri che abitate in altri quartieri” (you others who live in other neighborhoods), with which they were referenced by the Roman populace. They were considered 2^nd-class citizens because they lived on the wrong side of the tracks Tiber. 

I feel very differently about the Festa de' Noantri these days, and that has less to do with the fact that I'm a Catholic convert (that's a story for another post), and more to do with the fact that the procession no longer wakes me up on Sunday mornings. It still passes under my bedroom window (although I now live in a different apartment on a different street), but it does so around 7 o’clock on Saturday night instead of 7 o’clock on Sunday morning, and that makes all the difference. In fact, I’ve come to love this festival. I’m now in my 8^th year of witnessing it on my very street and it literally never gets old.

Festa de' Noantri, Piazza San Francesco d'Assini, 2012

If you happen to be in Trastevere tonight (Wed, 24 July 2013), get over to Piazza San Francesco d'Assini, stat! A brass band is playing as I write this, and who knows? Maybe the bersaglieri will show up with their fantastic feathered hats? I know I’ll be watching from my window.



Visit the festival's official site for a program of processions and events. 

All photos (except first) by author.

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Meet the Papabili: a Handy Guide to the Popefuls of Conclave 2013

As you likely already know (especially if you follow this blog, as it’s just about all I can think about right now) the papal election is only a day away. It’s probably about time we take a look at the front-runners before we Roman Catholics head to the polls. Oh, right, I forgot. We don’t get to pick our leader.

Be that as it may, I know that when I’m standing in that crowd of 100,000 or more people in St. Peter’s Square, waiting for the name of the new pope to be announced, I’m going to want to know whether to cheer with abandon and hope for the future of the church, or shake my head and think, “More of the same…”

After my last two mega-posts (particularly yesterday’s ridiculous 3,162-word tome that took me nearly literally the entire day to write), my solicitous maritino tactfully suggested that if I wanted my readers to actually read my posts (all the way through), I’d do best to consider shortening them just a tad. And as unpleasant as it is to admit your spouse is right, I think he is. Now, if I had a typical Italian husband, this is where I’d probably insert a joke about him only being concerned that my over-zealous blogging was preventing me from preparing his beloved nightly pasta. No, dearest bloglings, not even a hint! Yes, I got one of the good ones, but more on that another time (definitely after conclave).

So back to our friendly cardinals, one of who will have, in just a few days, the power to change the world. In Italian, a cardinal who is considered a strong candidate for the papacy is called a papabile (plural: papabili), literally pope-able. Frankly, I prefer Stephen Colbert’s term, “Popeful.”

Out of the 115 cardinal-electors participating in conclave this year, there are according to some up to 30 papabili, although for reasons mentioned above, I will be writing a much more abbreviated list.

Cardinal Angelo Scola of Italy. Archbishop of Milan.

Card. Scola is the clear front runner for this race. He’s got what some people consider the perfect combination of an Italian with tons of experience, and yet someone who has never actually worked inside the Vatican, so he can’t be blamed for the recent mismanagement of the Church. Out of all the others, he is the cardinal considered most likely to gain the 2/3 majority. But in Rome there is an expression, “He who goes into a conclave a pope, comes out a cardinal.” So maybe we shouldn’t bet on Scola yet. (Although he’s being given excellent odds with the bookies in town!) What could go against him: his name was dropped in the Vatileaks scandal last year as someone who should replace Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri of Argentina. Prefect for the Congregations of the Eastern Churches.

A few weeks ago, I predicted Card. Sandri for pope, and I still think he has a good shot, but in recent weeks, it’s seeming less likely. No one seems to be talking about him. Still, to me, on paper, Sandri is the ideal candidate. He covers all the bases for what it is believed the cardinals are looking for in the future pope: as a South American he has a deep understanding of the church outside Europe, but he has also spent most of his life in Italy and has worked as an high-level administrator in the Vatican. He proved himself as a good organizer when he worked directly under John Paul II. What could go against him: he could be blamed for the poor organization in the Vatican of recent years (although he left his previous position several years ago).

Cardinal Séan Patrick O’Malley of the United States. Archbishop of Boston.

If Card. Sandri is who I think could become pope, Card. O’Malley is who I hope will become pope. I was first introduced to him by Patricia Thomas on her wonderful blog, Mozzarella Mamma, which I have mentioned several times lately. Read her post on him, as she is a fan as well, for much more insight than I could hope to give. I just have a gut reaction to O’Malley. First of all, he’s a monk, and you can’t get much humbler than that. He shuns the Cardinal red and instead wears a simple cassock and hood of a Capuchin as he goes about his business here in Rome. He took over in Boston after the Bernard Law fiasco, and has worked tirelessly advocating for the victims of sex abuse by priests. What could go against him: he is well known for his reputation as a reformer, and the big Italian bloc inside the Vatican curia will do anything to keep him from becoming pope and challenging their status quo. But miracles can happen!

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the United States. Archbishop of New York.

Card. Dolan is an energetic powerhouse of a cardinal, and despite being a dreaded American, he is generally well liked by the Italian faction. The Italian paper La Repubblica calls him a “shadow candidate,” as he could be a potential compromise candidate for the two opposing factions, being called the Romans vs. the Reformers. While certainly not as change-hungry as O’Malley, Dolan has acknowledged that the church is in crisis and some reform is necessary. What I like about him is that he gets things done. He prefers to do things himself, instead of delegating them to others, which can only be a good thing. What could go against him: he is seen by some as “too American,” with little understanding of the rest of the world, and very poor foreign language skills.

Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer of Brazil. Archbishop of Sao Paolo.

There has been lots of talk lately about this Brazilian candidate of German descent. He is highly favored to be elected, particularly because of his close ties with those in power in the Vatican curia. But my mother always said, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” so… Next!

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines. Archbishop of Manila.

I’d like to imagine a Roman Catholic Church in which a man like Cardinal Tagle could be elected. Vatican expert John L. Allen says that if the cardinals’ first priority were to have a pope who would be a moving, rousing evangelizer, capable of “setting people on fire with enthusiasm for the faith, and if they wanted that evangelizer to come from outside the West," Tagle would be the obvious choice. He is only 55 years old, and widely considered the most charismatic and dynamic candidate, and is also admired for his simplicity and humility, (he gets around only by bike or on public transport). What could go against him: there are very few electors from Asia, and without a strong faction behind him, he will have a hard time gaining the 2/3 majority. He also is very unfamiliar with the workings of the Vatican. (Or maybe that’s a good thing?)

Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Canada. Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

Card Ouellet’s combination of fierce intellect, near-fluency in six languages, and several years of missionary experience in Colombia makes him a very interesting candidate for pope. To that he combines years of experience inside the Vatican. What could go against him: He is said to radiate prayerfulness and spirituality, which you would think would be ideal characteristics in a pope, but some think he might be overlooked because his inherent goodness might make it difficult for him to make the tough decisions that inevitably await a pope.

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Austria. Archbishop of Vienna.

John L. Allen, in his series of articles, Papabile of the Day, the Men who could be Pope, describes Card. Schonborn as “either an obvious, slam-dunk contender or somebody who's basically taken himself out of the running.” He’s something of a wild card, and not the most diplomatic of cardinals, but he has spoken out strongly against the sex abuse issues inside the church (he, along with Card. Tagle, are the only two papabili not implicated in any way in any of the sex abuse cover-ups). In fact, he stirred up more than a little trouble with Secretary of State Bertone and some other big-wigs in the Vatican curia, and he is definitely not in their good books. This might just work in his favor for those cardinals who are desirous of a change to the “old guard” and looking for someone who has no qualms about standing up to his opponents. What could go against him: those very same big-wigs will stop at nothing to prevent him from becoming pope, as they would probably all lose their cushy positions. Perhaps even more damning, the situation in Austria is a mess, which makes it look like he’s lacking in the all-important organizational and administrative department.

Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana. President for the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
Getting the number three best odds with bookies is the friendly, popular and dynamic Card Turkson, the most likely out of all the African candidates. Turkson is favored both for his long pastoral experience of 17 years in the the diocese of Cape Coast, and for his administrative skills, proven in his current post. In addition, he conveniently answers the desire for a pope to represent the most growing Catholic population, yet without being an outsider. Another plus is his advocation for Catholic/Muslim relations, a very timely plus on his resume. What could go against him: a few recent shenanigans have asked many to question his judgement. He once showed biased and already discredited YouTube video on Muslim immigration in Europe at a synod, he has made questionable remarks linking homosexuality with pedophilia, and some claim he is unabashedly campaigning for the papacy (posters with his face mysteriously appeared around Rome with the words "Vota Turkson").

Whoever is elected in the coming days (or weeks?), I think just having so many far flung countries represented on this list is a very good sign for the future of the Church. But what about you? Who do you think will be the next pope? Someone on this list or one of the number of other papabili? I’d love to hear who you’re predicting and why, so please leave a comment! (If you can't find the comment button, click on the title of the post and it should appear at the bottom.)

PS If you want to take a more active role in this conclave, you can adopt your very own cardinal! I’m not kidding. This website will assign you a cardinal-elector at random to pray for during conclave. Over 200,000 people have already signed up.

More conclave posts: 

A Short* History of Conclave

How Conlave works: all the Rules and Rituals of the Papal Election

Image sources: 1, all others

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