The Sanctuary of San Damiano is a fundamental place in the history of St Francis and St Clare.
It was 1205 when the young Francis, who had recently given up his plans to leave for the Fourth Crusade as a knight, found himself passing the church of San Damiano.
Erected a few centuries earlier, the temple was now falling into ruin, but the boy, in the throes of a deep existential crisis, entered it to pray. It was then that he heard a voice, coming from the crucifix, urging him to repair his house, which was falling into ruin.
Francis immediately began renovating the church and the adjoining convent where, in 1211, St Clare moved with other nuns, founding the order of the Poor Ladies of San Damiano, later to become the Poor Clares.
It was in this convent that St Clare spent the next 42 years, until her death in 1253.
The complex can be visited independently, following a signed route, or by reservation with a guide from the Friars Minor, who reside there and manage it.
The interior of the church is as simple as the exterior.
From the portico with three arches in front of the façade, you can enter the Chapel of San Girolamo, on the right, with frescoes from the 16th century, and continue the tour of the nave of the Church of San Damiano and the Chapel of the Crucifix, on the right side, where there is an exquisite crucifix from 1637 by Friar Innocenzo da Palermo.
At the end of the nave, in the apse, there is a wooden choir from 1504, a copy of the original crucifix of San Damiano, now kept in the Basilica of Santa Chiara, and frescoes from the 14th century depicting San Damiano, San Rufino and the Madonna and Child.
In addition to the church, some of the rooms of the convent can be visited, such as the Choir of St Clare, where the nuns would gather to pray and the Oratory of St Clare, where she would retire to prayer, and the dormitory.
Finally, I recommend you visit the Canticle Gallery, an exhibition space where you can admire various works of art celebrating the Canticle of the Creatures written by St Francis.
Here’s an interesting fact: All of the nuns, including Clare, slept lying on a simple sack stuffed with straw to respect the rule of absolute poverty in which they had chosen to live.
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