The Impression of the Sacred Stigmata of Saint Francis
Impressionis Sacrorum Stigmatum S. Francisci Confessoris
This feast commemorates the wondrous gift by which Saint Francis of Assisi, in prayer upon the mountain of La Verna, received in his own body the marks of the wounds of the crucified Christ.
On the seventeenth of September the Church keeps the memory of a singular grace granted to Saint Francis of Assisi: the impression upon his body of the Sacred Stigmata, the five wounds of our crucified Lord. This feast does not celebrate the death of the Saint, which the Church keeps on the fourth of October, but rather this marvel of his life, by which the love that burned within him was made visible in his very flesh.
The marvel of La Verna
The tradition, attested by those who knew him and recorded soon after his death, relates that about two years before he died Saint Francis withdrew to the lonely mountain of La Verna, in the Apennines, to keep a long fast and to give himself wholly to prayer. There, as he meditated upon the Passion of Christ and prayed to be conformed to his suffering Lord, he beheld a heavenly vision; and when it had passed, there appeared in his hands and feet and side the marks of the wounds of Jesus crucified, which he bore until his death. With great humility he sought to hide this gift from the eyes of men, accounting himself unworthy, and it became fully known only when his body was prepared for burial.
The Church has long honoured this grace as a token of how perfectly Saint Francis was united to the Cross of Christ. In him the words of the Apostle were in a manner fulfilled, who bore in his own body the marks of the Lord Jesus; and the faithful behold in the Stigmata not a thing sought for wonder’s sake, but the fruit of a soul wholly given over to the love of the Crucified.
The feast
So greatly was this marvel esteemed that a feast was appointed in its memory and in time extended to the whole Western Church, that all the faithful might give thanks to God for the love he showed forth in his servant Francis. It is kept on the seventeenth of September.
The collect of the day prays that God, who renewed in the flesh of blessed Francis the sacred marks of his Passion to set the world afire with the love of him, would grant by his merits and prayers that we may ever bear the Cross and bring forth worthy fruits of penance.
The Collect
O Lord Jesus Christ, who, when the world was growing cold, didst renew in the sacred flesh of blessed Francis the marks of thy Passion, to inflame our hearts with the fire of thy love: mercifully grant that by his merits and prayers we may ever carry the cross, and bring forth worthy fruits of penance.
Dómine Iesu Christe, qui, frigéscente mundo, ad inflammándum corda nostra tui amóris igne, in carne beatíssimi Francísci passiónis tuæ sacra Stígmata renovásti: concéde propítius; ut eius méritis et précibus crucem iúgiter ferámus, et dignos fructus pœniténtiæ faciámus.
Patronage
The feast honours the conformity of Saint Francis of Assisi to the crucified Christ and is especially dear to the Franciscan Order and to all who venerate the Passion of our Lord.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar this commemoration is no longer kept on the universal calendar, though it is retained in the Franciscan family; on this day the universal calendar observes the memorial of Saint Robert Bellarmine.
Common Questions
When is the feast of the Stigmata of Saint Francis?
It is kept on 17 September in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Fourth Class feast. In the modern universal calendar this commemoration is no longer observed, though it is retained in the Franciscan Order.
What are the Sacred Stigmata?
The Sacred Stigmata are the marks of the five wounds of the crucified Christ — in the hands, the feet, and the side. According to a tradition recorded soon after his death, Saint Francis of Assisi received these wounds in his own body about two years before he died, while praying on Mount La Verna.
Why does the Church honour this event?
The Church sees in the Stigmata a sign of how perfectly Saint Francis was united to the Passion of our Lord, fulfilling in himself the Apostle’s words that he bore in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus. The feast gives thanks for the love of God shown forth in his servant and calls the faithful to take up the Cross.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
These pages are offered with love for the saints and for all who seek them. If anything here should need correcting, we humbly beg your pardon and ask your help — kindly write to [email protected], and we will mend it as soon as we can.
Receive the coming feasts, Mass times, and reflections from our community — sent with care, never spam.