Franciscan Spirituality flows from the experience of a single man, St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). Son of cloth merchant Pietro Bernardone, St. Francis went from fighting for the values of wealth and fame to feeling contempt for those same values. After suffering for a year in an open pit prison …

by Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Dec 23, 2023 / 07:00 am It’s a well-known origin story: how the young and wealthy Francis of Assisi freely abandoned his noble patrimony to serve Christ’s Church as a poor, itinerant preacher. One of the world’s most beloved saints, the founder of the Franciscan …

By Jonah McKeown, Kate Olivera CNA Staff, Oct 4, 2023 / 04:00 am In the Italian town of Gubbio, some 130 miles north of Rome, sits the church of San Francisco della Pace — the Church of St. Francis “of the Peace.” The church is large and old, and its white stone exterior is …

By Carl Bunderson Denver, Colo., Jul 28, 2023 / 07:00 am The feast of Our Lady of the Angels of Portiuncula and its associated indulgence is a way to focus on the importance of Mary and the Franciscan tradition in the Church, according to one friar. The Aug. 2 feast is …

By Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Dec 23, 2022 / 08:00 am It’s a well-known origin story: how the young and wealthy Francis of Assisi freely abandoned his noble patrimony to serve Christ’s Church as a poor, itinerant preacher. One of the world’s most beloved saints, the founder of the Franciscan order …

Father Arthur (Art) J. Espelage, OFM, 78, passed away Dec. 9 at Riverside Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, where he was receiving Hospice Care. Born on Aug. 13, 1944, in Cincinnati, Father Art was one of six children of Arthur Sr. and Antoinette. He attended St. Bonaventure School in Cincinnati. With …

On Oct. 4, Roman Catholics celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Italian deacon who brought renewal to the Church through his decision to follow Jesus’ words as literally as possible. In a January 2010 general audience, Pope Benedict XVI recalled this “giant of holiness” as a “great …

by Courtney Mares Assisi, Italy, Dec 17, 2021 / 15:17 pm Saint Francis’ hometown of Assisi has once again been illuminated with Giotto’s frescoes this Christmas season. The frescoes from the interior of the Basilica of St. Francis are being projected each night onto the town’s churches from Dec. 8 …

by CNA Staff Greccio, Italy, Dec 17, 2021 / 04:00 am In 2019, Pope Francis issued an apostolic letter on the meaning and importance of the Christmas nativity scene. He signed the document, Admirabile signum (“Enchanting image”), on Dec. 1 that year, at the Shrine of the Nativity in Greccio, a hilltown in the …

by Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Jul 13, 2021 / 13:00 pm The Order of Friars Minor announced Tuesday the election of Rome-native Fr. Massimo Fusarelli to be their newest minister general. Fusarelli, 58, was elected by the order for a term of six years. The election was confirmed by Cardinal …