The Mystical Experiences of Saint Francis of Assisi

The Sweet Taste of Bethlehem and Conversion

When Francis pronounced the name Bethlehem, he felt the taste of honey in his mouth. When he began to do penance and embrace absolute poverty, showing mercy to lepers, he was able to say: "What seemed bitter to me was changed into sweetness of soul and body".

The Chariot of Fire: The Vision of the Soul

Around midnight, those who were awake and praying in silence saw a very bright chariot of fire enter through the little door of the house, making two or three rounds back and forth across the room; upon it rested a great globe, shining like the sun, which illuminated the darkness of the night.

They were astonished by that light which not only penetrated the body, but also the spirit, where it had extraordinary effects. Gathering together, they asked each other the meaning of the phenomenon, and then understood that it was certainly the soul of the blessed Father. It was an extraordinary gift bestowed by God upon Francis for his purity and his ardent love for creatures.

The Kiss to the Leper: The Encounter with Christ

One day, while Francis was contemplating leaving the worldly life and riding through the fields outside the walls of Assisi, he distinctly heard the sound of a bell.

Francis felt the urge to flee because he knew that leprosy was a highly contagious disease, but he overcame his repugnance, dismounted from his horse, approached the leper, and kissed him with the kiss of love. After mounting his horse again, he turned to greet the leper, but he had vanished. That leper was Jesus Christ come down to earth to receive a kiss from his servant.

"In his Testament, Francis wrote: 'When I was in sin, it seemed too bitter to see lepers; the Lord led me among them, and when I left, what before seemed bitter to me was changed into sweetness of soul and body, and afterwards I left the world'."

To delve deeper into this fundamental passage, you can read his Spiritual Testament.

The Stigmata: The Seal of Christ on La Verna

Francis, with some companions, reached the summit of La Verna, where he practiced increasingly fervent prayer for several days. On September 14, 1224, the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, in the early hours of the morning, Francis was marked with the stigmata.

The Vision of the Six-Winged Seraph

Thomas of Celano recounts: "He saw a man standing above him, resembling a Seraph with six wings, hands outstretched and feet joined and nailed to a cross. Two of the wings were raised above his head, two were spread as if in flight, and two covered his entire body.

When the blessed servant of the Most High saw these things, he was filled with the greatest wonder, but he still could not understand what this vision meant. However, he was full of joy and rejoiced greatly at the courteous and benign look with which he was gazed upon by the seraph, whose beauty was priceless."

The Signs of the Passion on His Body

And while he was unable to comprehend this and the strangeness of the vision perplexed his heart, the signs of the nails began to appear in his hands and feet, just as he had seen them shortly before in the man crucified above him. In addition to this, his left side was as if it had been pierced by a spear.

The Wolf of Gubbio: The Miracle of Peace

The entire city of Gubbio lived under the nightmare of a fierce Wolf which, in its frequent appearances in the city, slaughtered animals and men; the poor and frightened inhabitants, to defend themselves, were forced to shut themselves inside the walls.

Francis had compassion on those people and, inspired by the Lord, went out of the town to meet the Wolf. When he saw the animal coming towards him, he stopped it with the sign of the cross and said to him: "Brother wolf, come here; I command you on behalf of Christ that you do no harm to me or to anyone, and I promise you that the people will provide for your sustenance, do you agree?". The Wolf, meek as a lamb, extended his paw to Francis to accept the pact proposed in front of all the astonished citizens. The Wolf lived for a long time among the inhabitants without doing any harm. The inhabitants, in memory of such a marvelous prodigy, had a small church erected, which still exists today, called the church of "Victory".

Prophecies on the Future Growth of the Order

One day the little poor man of Assisi began to pray to obtain from God enlightenment on what his life and that of his brethren would be like. Immediately he felt his innermost heart flooded with ineffable joy and immense sweetness. He was raptured outside himself and in the divine illumination he could clearly contemplate the future.

When the contemplation ended and he returned full of joy, he said to his friars: "Dearest ones, comfort yourselves and rejoice in the Lord, do not be saddened by the fact that you are few; do not be frightened by my and your simplicity, because, as the Lord has revealed to me, He will make us an innumerable multitude and will spread us to the ends of the earth. I have seen a great multitude of men coming to us, desiring to live in the habit of the holy common life and according to the Rule of the blessed Religion. The noise of their coming and going in obedience to the command of holy obedience still rings in my ears! I have seen the roads crowded with them, coming from almost all nations".

The Swallows of Aviano: The Sermon to the Animals

One day, while Saint Francis was speaking to the people gathered in the square of Aviano, a flock of swallows was chattering so loudly that it prevented his voice from reaching those present. Francis addressed them with the following words: "My sister swallows, now it is my turn to speak, because you have already spoken enough; listen to the word of God in silence and quiet until the discourse is finished."

The flock immediately fell silent to the astonishment of the crowd and remained so until the sermon was over. Those present were amazed at this sign and said: "Truly this man is a saint and a friend of the Most High!".