St. Francis – 800 years in heaven

The chapel where the remains of St. Francis rest

The celebration of the death of St. Francis of Assisi on the evening of October 3 each year is known as the Transitus in Latin, or the "passage" from this life to the next. Today the Franciscan family remembers the joy with which Francis greeted his "Sister Bodily Death" and calls to mind that this is a journey we will all make someday. This commemoration of death is one of the most important Franciscan feasts.  Francis did not shy away from the reality of his eventual death. Scholars note that this stanza in the ‘Canticle of the Creatures’ was added at the end of the text by Francis near the time of his own death. Those Franciscan friars who knew and lived with him, recount how Francis was seen by a doctor close to his death and recalls the exchange between them:

The doctor said to him: "Brother, by the grace of the Lord, it will be well with you." For he did not want to tell him that he would die in a little while. Again blessed Francis said to him: "Tell me the truth. How does it look to you? Do not be afraid, for, by the grace of God, I am not a coward who fears death. With the Lord's help, by His mercy and grace, I am so united and joined with my Lord that I am equally as happy to die as I am to live." The doctor then told him frankly: "According to our assessment, your illness is incurable and you will die either at the end of September or in early October." Blessed Francis, while he was lying on his bed sick, with the greatest devotion and reverence for the Lord stretched out his arms and hands with great joy of mind and body and said to his body and soul: "Welcome, my Sister Death!" So, as today we commemorate the eighth centenary of Francis' own transitus, and celebrate the historical legacy he left behind, may we commit ourselves to more deeply embracing the Christian truth that death does not have the last word and, when the time comes for each of us as it surely will, that we embrace our Sister Bodily Death like the poor man from Assisi who reminded us that the only path toward resurrection is through earthly death.