Francis of Assisi and the Holy Land
What we owe to St Francis of Assisi in the Holy Land — how his extraordinary visit to the Sultan in 1219, during the Crusades, led to the Franciscans becoming custodians of every major Christian site in Palestine. (5 min read)
Since the time of Helena – the fourth century – western pilgrims have been coming to the Holy Land to venerate the sites connected with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. But it has not always been easy for them.
The Holy Land is not only holy for Christians – it is the most sacred place on Earth for people of Jewish faith and the third most important place for Muslims (after Mecca and Medina).
Control of the Holy Land has changed many times over the centuries and there have been periods when it has been near impossible for Christians to visit.
Deep breath! Now I must mention the Crusades – the most wicked initiative of the Papacy to “convert” Muslims and capture the Holy Land. St Francis of Assisi, before his conversion to a holy life, aspired to be a knight and to kill the infidel. Thanks God, he never did this but he did visit the Middle East during the Crusades.
For several years, Francis tried to reach the Holy Land. In fact, he failed twice but in 1219, he and some of the brothers travelled to Damietta, Egypt and then on to Palestine. Francis’ intention was to convert the Sultan to Christianity but I think there was a much bigger plan.
The blood thirsty, immoral behaviour of the crusaders appalled Francis and he and a brother set out to find the Sultan alone to end the stupid war. Extraordinarily, they found the Sultan and Francis spent 3 weeks with him (apparently, both could speak French).
There is a popular story that Francis proposed a trial by fire to the Sultan in order to prove the superior faith. Francis offered to throw himself on a fire on the condition that a Muslim priest do the same and that Sultan embrace the religion of the one that was unharmed. It is said that the Sultan did not accept this proposal. The tradition is that the Sultan asked Francis to stay and that Francis said he would do so if the Sultan converted to Christianity. Some say that the Sultan acknowledged the beauty of the Christian message but said he could not convert.
Francis left Egypt respectful of Muslims and encouraged Christians to emulate their prayer and prostration five times a day.
Francis was given permission by the Sultan to visit to holy places in Palestine. And, interestingly, the Franciscans have been the ongoing Christian presence in the Holy Land since this period.
Ten years after meeting Francis, the Sultan ceded Jerusalem and Bethlehem to the Christians, enabling access to the holy sites.
In 1333 the brothers established themselves in the Cenacle (the location of the Last Supper), where they established a Friary. They also ministered in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (which is the site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus). In 1342, the Pope made the Franciscans custodians of the sites in the Holy Land related to the life of Jesus.
The Franciscan presence in the Holy Land has progressively expanded over time to include the Church of the Annunciation in Nazereth, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Shrine of Cana in Galilee, St Peter’s Church in Capernaum, the tomb of Lazurus in Bethany. In Jerusalem, the Franciscans are now responsible for all the major Christian sites (although the Orthodox Church has alternative sites for some of them).
I came to the Holy Land on a whim this Christmas and brought along the penultimate draft of my book on St Francis of Assisi in case there was time to write. What I did not appreciate is how much pilgrims – indeed all visitors – owe to Francis of Assisi.
I doubt that Francis could have imagined that acting on his compulsion to visit the Holy Land would ultimately save so many precious sites from the life of Jesus and create the opportunity for so many pilgrims to be transformed through visiting them.
This visit I have been very mindful of St Francis as I travel around The Holy Land. I see representations of him in almost every Catholic Church.
My favourite church in Jerusalem is called St Saviour. This church abuts the Franciscan Curia, a Franciscan monastery and publishing house. The style is over the top neo-baroque but it is nearly always empty and the energy is wonderful! In honour of St Francis, the church has the most beautiful Christmas crib and there is also a statue of Francis and several paintings of him.
I was hesitating about blogging about St Francis but tonight’s reading at Mass from the Book of Numbers changed my mind. I instantly recognised it as the blessing Francis gave to his dear brother Leo which is held in the Chapel of the Relics in Assisi.
As 2016 draws to a close, I leave you with the wonderful sentiments of Francis’ blessing:
“May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he show his face to you and be merciful to you. May he turn his countenance to you and give you peace”.
© Paul McCarthy & Iluminar.au
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