The power of reverent liturgy to bring souls into the Presence of Christ was abundantly on display this week in San Francisco.
The Knights of St. Francis, at great expense, have brought the relics of St. Francis to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. I stood in front of the monstrance holding the bandage soaked in the blood of St. Francis from the stigmata granted to him before he died, 800 years ago this October. I spent time venerating the saint in front of his portrait painted by Cimabue in the 13th century to cover his casket, making it both a masterpiece and a relic. The great saint came to us and the city rejoiced.
I celebrated with Archbishop Cordileone, Bishop Barber, and hundreds of others a magnificent Mass honoring the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Mission of St. Francis of Assisi (Mission Dolores), a few steps from the mission church, which remains the oldest building in the city of San Francisco still standing.
It was a magnificent week for the faithful and the faith in San Francisco. If you were there, you know. If not, I want to give you a taste of the holy joy we all shared on this great occasion of the twin anniversaries for St. Francis and his spiritual son St. Junipero Serra.
On October 4, the 800th anniversary of the passing of St. Francis to the Lord, the Archbishop of San Francisco gathered with his people to bless the city named for the little poor man of Assisi:
“Today, O Lord, we ask You to bless this city of San Francisco, which bears the name of Your servant Francis.
Bless this city, home to a Franciscan Mission and to churches where Your people gather to hear Your Word, celebrate the Holy Eucharist, receive Your mercy, and give You praise.
Bless this city, built by fishermen, workers, pioneers, and people who have come from many nations and cultures.
Make it a place where strangers may find welcome, where the poor may find compassion, where families may find peace, and where every human person may be recognized as created in Your image and likeness.
Bless this city surrounded by the beauty of Your creation.
Teach us, through the example of Saint Francis, to praise You for Brother Sun and Sister Moon, for the earth, the sea, the wind, and every creature, and to care faithfully for all that You have entrusted to us. And when this city is shaken by the power of creation, keep us mindful that our true refuge is in You…”
October 4 blessing at National Shrine Of St. Francis, Roseanne T. Sullivan photo.
Amen.
There are those who say the Church should never spend money on the beauty of churches or the liturgy, that is to say for the worship of the Lord. Do you know who never said that?
St. Francis.
St. Francis wanted Franciscan monks to live in poverty. On a visitation with a Franciscan monks who had built a magnificent convent to live in, St. Francis erupted with holy indignation: “I do not acknowledge this house as ours, nor do I count as brothers any who remain in it,” he thundered.
But when it came to the house of God, nothing was too magnificent or expensive: St. Francis built beautiful church after beautiful church, admonished priests who did not provide rich and spotless linens for the Altar of the Lord, begged for jewels and gold to adorn the implements used in re-presenting the Sacrifice of Christ, and eventually St. inspired an immense renaissance in Catholic art.
Because St. Francis knew that as Christ himself told us (Matthew 6:21), where your treasure is so shall your heart be. And St. Francis’s treasure was Lord Jesus Christ.
We got to see Cimabue’s 13th century portrait of St. Francis painted to cover his bier and notice St. Francis’s hands, with the wounds of Christ, holding the Holy Bible. It is now at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption.
On October 10, Archbishop Cordileone celebrated the Mass; we honored our saints and the founding of Mission of St. Francis of Assisi (Mission Dolores) and the city of San Francisco. As we worshiped the Lord, we were lifted to heavenly things by Frank La Rocca’s great Missa Sancti Juniperi Serra commissioned by Archbishop Cordileone through the Benedict XVI Institute.
Bishop Michael Barber’s homily was superb.
The papal nuncio, Archbishop Caccio, as Pope Leo XIV’s special representative, was also there and also gave a talk.
EWTN was there to share it with you and with the world, and you can click on this link:
Frank La Rocca’s Missa Sancti Juniperi Serra, October 10 Basilica of Mission Dolores, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone celebrant. Choir of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music. https://www.youtube.com/live/gy4E_-ZUDOI
The October 10 celebration of Frank La Rocca’s Missa Sancti Juniperi Serra was a solemn Novus Ordo, done reverently with abundant use of Latin but not a traditional Latin Mass in the way that term is usually used, despite the headline used on the video.
The next afternoon on October 11, a small group of us artists and art lovers gathered at Holy Family House in San Francisco. Together we watched the documentary In Search of America’s Catholic Founders: St. Junipero Serra that Benedict XVI Institute donors made and Archbishop Cordileone hosted.
In 1776, St. Junipero Serra and his Franciscan brothers founded Mission Dolores–and a great American city. This is their story.
We read poems honoring St. Francis and St. Junipero Serra (including “The Liturgy of the Hours of St. Junipero Serra” by our poet-in-residence James Matthew Wilson) and finished by reading together Dana Gioia’s new English translation of St. Francis’ Canticle for All Creatures. (See Dana Gioia read it here.) We drank water and wine and ate pork, tofu, and mustard green soup I made before enjoying some St. Francis medieval spice cookies the poet Roseanne T. Sullivan baked for us.
The story goes like this: On his deathbed, St. Francis wrote to his friend the noblewoman Jacoba of Settesoli and asked her to come visit and bring him those famous cookies she used to cook for him in Rome. Every year on St. Francis feast day of October 4, the Italians still eat mostaccioli in his honor. ( I don’t have the recipe, but I know it involves grape must).
On October 12, we gathered again, this time at the National Shrine of St. Francis, with many Knights of St. Francis and Italian officials and the Friars of Assisi for The Canticle Experience. We stepped together “into a luminous, immersive sensory experience where Saint Francis’s hymn comes alive like never before.”
Guided by the celebrated voice of Friar Alessandro, with an original score by André Ripa, this contemplative journey moves verse-by-verse—from Brother Sun to Sister Mother Earth — inviting us all “to exhale, belong, and be renewed.”
Finally, many of you joined Kevin Kacvinsky and me on October 14 for a special preview of the relics and a party on the plaza thrown by the Knights of St. Francis, who managed to turn it into an Italian Piazza:
Mayors of San Francisco mingled with monks, Italian tenors, and very proud Catholics to mark the 800th anniversary of the passing of the great saint for whom San Francisco is named. Many of you joined me and Kevin to celebrate and to wonder and to venerate.
Thanks to you, we were able to take the gift the great poet Dana Gioia gave us of his new translation of the “Canticle for All Creatures” and, with the help of Bay Area painter Ann Marie Campbell, create a magnificent shrine for St. Francis during the course of the “Sacred Relics and Masterpieces: St. Francis Comes to SF” exhibit at San Francisco’s Cathedral.
People kept stopping by to kneel and also to hear painter Ann Marie Campbell explain her use of ancient techniques. “In 500 years, this will be as beautiful as it is today,” she told us.
The shrine will remain in the Cathedral for the course of the Exhibition at least, to give the faithful a chance to ask St. Francis for his prayers after venerating his relics. Thank you.
Here are a few details from the illuminated manuscript that I especially appreciate. You see St. Junipero Serra welcoming his spiritual father St. Francis to the Mission Dolores to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding:
St. Francis is holding the monstrance with his blood from the stigmata. That monstrance with St. Francis’ blood is right now at the Catedral of St. Mary of the Assumption for the faithful to venerate until November 28.
Now enjoy this image of Mission Dolores with a path to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, from 1776 until today the path of our tradition continues.
I love that Ann Marie Campbell (the painter) included the crest of Archbishop Cordileone, who commissioned this work through the Benedict XVI Institute. His contribution will be remembered for all to see when the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Mission of St. Francis of Assisi comes around:
Speaking of Archbishop Cordileone, I suppose I should let you know that he was attacked by an influential Rome theologian for making “schismatic” arguments. InfoVaticana has the story.
It all sounds remarkably silly to me. A Rome theologian, losing influence, attacks a beloved Archbishop on the grounds that any advocacy to the Pope for greater access to the traditional Latin Mass means you are a schismatic. Our distressed theologian used a common “progressive” rhetorical device of, in the place of making an actual argument, just describing the Archbishop’s words as “similar to” some words some schismatics have uttered, as if Catholics are required to shout in horror “cooties!” when anything remotely traditional is said.
I was glad the papal nuncio was at Mission Dolores for the solemn high Missa Sancti Juniperi Serra to see the kind of reverent liturgy the Archbishop is promoting, a true revival of the high sacred liturgical tradition of the Church, a Novus Ordo genuinely inspired by the Catholic tradition. (I also heard, but can’t confirm, they opened the boxes of relics together, which has to be a priestly bonding experience!)
Another long letter, full of friendship and beauty, and holy joy. Thank you for being part of this incredible community called together by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.
Oh, and if you ever wondered how to start a genuinely and classically Catholic school, come to our October 21 Zoom event and hear from 6 people who did it!
Your friend, in Christ,
Maggie
Maggie Gallagher, executive director
BenedictInstitute.org.
ReverentLiturgy.org
A great treasure! A fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experience!! Wonderful story! God bless Maggie Gallagher!! (Please don’t renove my heartfelt (!!) exclamation points, CalCatholic editors! Please!)
I’m curious about the painting here. Of course, at the time of St. Francis, he and his friars wore gray or undyed wool. And, though he is wearing a friar’s habit, is he being depicted after he was ordained a deacon?
Or, were lay persons permitted to hold a monstrance in the early 13th century? (I’m thinking probably not.)
Today, priests and deacons, even bishops, cover their hands with a cloth called a humeral veil when handling or blessing people with the monstrance to show that Jesus Christ Himself is blessing the congregation, not the individual clergyman.
And, Francis and his lay brothers were permitted to preach, even at Mass, with ecclesial approval. Of course, they often preached in the streets. Saint Francis and the friars are such an example and inspiration for us. Saint Francis, pray for us.