Tau of St. Francis: meaning and spirituality

Biblical origins: Ezekiel and Revelation

Because of its shape, the Tau has been for centuries the symbolic support of the theology of the cross. The Jews had progressively developed an exegesis for every letter of the alphabet. In the 3rd century, several Talmudists were consulted by Origen about the interpretation of the Tau of Ezekiel (9:4).

The prophecy of Ezekiel

The Lord ordered the prophet: "Pass through the city, walk through Jerusalem and mark on the forehead the men who groan and cry for all the abominations that are committed in the midst of it". And with my ears I heard him say to the others: "Pass behind him through the city, and strike! Let your eye not spare and have no mercy. Kill old men, young men, virgins, children, and women, to the point of extermination: only do not touch anyone who bears the cross on his forehead" (Ez 9:4-5).

The seal in Revelation

Revelation takes up this vision: "Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God. And he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.' And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand" (Rev 7:2-4).

The seal impressed on the foreheads of the servants evidently alludes to the Tau impressed on the foreheads of the penitents in the vision of Ezekiel.

Numerological meaning: the number 300

In the Greek alphabet, the letter Tau was the sign that indicated the number 300. Every time this number is encountered in the Bible, it is synonymous with salvation or victory.

Noah's Ark

God said to Noah: "Make yourself an ark of cypress wood. This is how you must make it: the ark will be three hundred cubits long" (Gen 6:14-15). Origen explains how the ark is the saving raft prefiguring the redeeming cross, since 300 is equal to TAU.

The 318 servants of Abraham

"When Abram heard that his relative had been taken prisoner, he led forth his trained men, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen of them" (Gen 14:14). Scripture transcribes this number 318 with the letters IHT. That is, first IH=18 and then T=300. Thus we have the beginning of the name Jesus (IH), the Tau comes after announcing the arrival of grace through the cross. In the first two letters we have an allusion to Jesus, in the last an allusion to the cross.

According to some Talmudists, the Tau meant end, conclusion, fulfillment of the entire revealed Word. For others, as the first letter of the word Torah, it meant the sum of those laws that led to salvation. The Tau that pious Jews wore on their foreheads was a sign of their bond to the law and their belonging to God.

The use of the Tau in the life of St. Francis

This letter occupies an important place in the life and behavior of St. Francis, who not only makes frequent use of it, but manifests a true affection, if not even a devotion, for this sign.

If St. Francis chose and adopted the Tau symbol, the cause must be sought in his love for the cross. If he then spread it, it is because he wanted to preach salvation through the cross. "Pass through the city, through Jerusalem and mark a Tau on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry for all the abominations that are committed in it" (Ez 9:4).

This is the invitation Francis felt, an invitation to a general mobilization for a crusade of conversion and penance. Francis therefore wanted to mark himself and his brothers with the Tau, which became the sign of the vocation of the Order, but also the symbol of penance and was the favorite theme of his preaching to exhort everyone to conversion.

Adopting the Tau as a personal seal - then it was called a "manual sign" - and proposing it, so to speak, as a coat of arms for the nascent Order of Friars Minor, well underlines the importance Francis attributed to it.

Historical testimonies: Thomas of Celano

Friar Thomas of Celano, in his Treatise on Miracles, composed in 1252, writes: "Among so many letters the Tau was the most familiar, with which he signed notes and decorated the walls of the cells". And further on: "with such a seal St. Francis signed his letters, whenever out of necessity or out of a spirit of charity, he sent some of his writings".

That Francis adopted the Tau is also due to the very shape of this letter: the handwriting of the Tau is that of the cross, of Jesus crucified.

The archaeological confirmation

The statement of Thomas of Celano about the inscription on the walls by Francis of the letter Tau is confirmed by archaeology. In fact, during the restoration of the Santa Maddalena chapel at Fonte Colombo, a red-painted Tau was discovered in the window recess, later covered with white lime in the 15th century.

Connection with the stigmata

Francis is well aware that the Tau is also the sign for the victors, so after having preached it he will even bear it in his own flesh through the stigmata.

Francis, during the stigmatization, would have felt called to become "the bearer of the seal of the living God", that is, not only to present in his own person the signs of redemption, but also to claim as his personal property the part of the angel.

The vision of Friar Pacifico

Friar Pacifico, a companion of Francis, had a vision (this before becoming provincial minister in France). "He saw on the forehead of Francis a great Tau whose colors gave the saint's face a marvelous beauty". On this vision, Thomas of Celano recounts: the Tau that shone from Francis's forehead was of "multicolored and wondrous little circles like the feathers of a peacock".

Spiritual meaning today

Francis in the symbol of the Tau had seen an effective sign of salvation for all those who accept to be marked by it. The Tau represents the cross of Christ, penance, conversion, and belonging to God.

God makes Himself fruitful with new children, those marked by His Tau, which happens in secret and in silence so that Satan and his followers cannot harm them. Today as then, the Tau continues to be a powerful symbol of faith, hope, and redemption for all Christians who seek to live the Gospel with radicality and love.