Assisi
Hill town in Umbria, the home of Francis and Clare. The chapel of the Portiuncula and the church of San Damiano, both near the town, were the first homes of the Franciscan brothers and sisters.
Assisi is a town in Umbria in central Italy. Francis of Assisi and Clare of Assisi were both born there. Thomas of Celano names two churches near it: San Damiano, by the road to the town, which Francis repaired and where Clare’s community began (Thomas of Celano, First Life of Francis 8, 18), and Saint Mary of the Portiuncula, where the order began and where Francis died in 1226 (Thomas of Celano, First Life of Francis 21, 88). See Francis of Assisi and the Friars Minor.
What happened here
- about 1209, estimated dateFrancis of Assisi and the Friars Minor
Francis of Assisi gives up his property to live by the Gospel in poverty, gathers brothers and wins the approval of Pope Innocent III. Clare founds a sister community, and in 1223 Honorius III confirms the Rule of the Friars Minor.