In the early afternoon on Tuesday  (after a strenuous walk in the morning) we took a taxi from Badia Prataglia to Sanctuario DellaVerna, a mountain beloved of Saint Francis, sharing it with a German Swiss woman, Constance.  Constance is walking the Camino by herself. During the ride the sun was shining brightly on the valley below the mountain. After checking in we walked around the Sanctuario for a while and purchased a book to help us understand all of the Sanctuario’s features. The Sanctuario is a holy place. 

We went to the Basilica built not long after Francis death. It has a ‘Door of Mercy ‘. At 6:30 they have Vespers and then pray the Rosary. All prayer services are conducted with spoken and sung prayer using Gregorian chant in either Latin or Italian. Dinner was at 7:30 served family-style at a brisk pace.  After dinner we went to our chilly room and went to bed. 

It seems that in Italy the temperature is regulated by the calendar rather than the temperature. It was around 50° and damp but no heat was turned on. I guess that heat may show up in Ottobre or Novembre, but not in Settembre. Lots of warm blankets helped to make our sleep warm and toasty, but our laundry wouldn’t dry. 

We stayed at the Sanctuario for one extra day. It is one of the most important sites, next to Assisi, in Francis’ life. He spent many days here and loved its remote beauty and isolation. He spent his time in prayer among the huge, cleft rocks and trees. The peak of the mountain, a stiff hour’s climb above the Basilica and guest house,is known as Mount Pena. We started our walk up in bright sunshine atabout 70° and finished in a chilly rain and hail storm!

During one of his visits, while in the middle of a 40 day solo retreat, Francis was visited by Jesus who talked to him while sitting on a stone slab that Francesco used as a table. That stone slab can be seen at the Sanctuario, where a complex of buildings now stand. 

On his very last visit here Francesco again embarked on a 40 day  retreat. During the retreat a vision appeared of Jesus on the cross. Francesco, like all Christians, had been trying to live his life in a manner that was pleasing to God with the hope to be united with God after his earthly life was finished. When Francesco came out of the vision he was marked with the 5 wounds of Jesus -hands, feet, and side. Francesco understood this Stigmata as being a great honor and understood it as being united with God,  while still on earth. The garment that he wore when the Stigmata was given to him is preserved and displayed in a side Cappella at the Basilica. 

The Sanctuario is a holy place. The inscription in stone over the main entrance says that it is “one of the holiest mountains in the whole world “. 

The men and women Franciscans’ lives revolve around prayer – morning, noon, and night. The Monastario’s women and men pray the Hours. They offer Messe  (Mass) five times a day. At 3:00 every day there is a procession from the Basilica to the Cappella da Stimatta (built on the site where Francis received the stigmata ) . The abbot leads the prayer service and holds one of the sacred San Francesco holy objects in a reliquary while leading the procession from the Basilica to the Cappella da Stimatta , which we joined. 

Sitting in the Sanctuario on the morning that we leave to walk to Santo Stefano, I am thinking about the life of the monks. Their life is simple. Their life is quiet. It is full of prayer. I think that I can understand why you could be attracted to this life.  The Sanctuario is truly a holy place.