Nine Days with Saint Francis

Assisi Prepares for the 800th Anniversary Celebrations

Francis died on the evening of 3 October 1226 at the Porziuncola, the little chapel he loved so deeply. Franciscans speak of his death as his Transitus - his passage from earthly life into eternal life.

Eight centuries later, Assisi continues to bear witness to the life and message of its most famous son. From 24 September to 2 October 2026, the city of Assisi prepares for the great national celebrations of 3 and 4 October with a special novena entitled Nine Days with Saint Francis.

This will be much more than a series of religious services. Each day will take pilgrims to a place connected with a different stage of Francis’s life: his birth, baptism and childhood; his renunciation of wealth; his encounter with the Crucifix; his service to lepers; the beginnings of the Franciscan fraternity; and, finally, the city he blessed.

Together, these nine days form a pilgrimage through the life of Saint Francis walked in the very places where his story unfolded.

Thursday 24 September: The birth of Francis

The opening day invites us to remember Francis not first as a saint, but as a child born into an ordinary family, a human life through which God would do something extraordinary. We start this day at the Chiesa Nuova, built over the site traditionally associated with the home of Francis’s family. At 5.30 pm, a procession will leave the Chiesa Nuova and the faithful will walk to the Basilica of Saint Francis, where Vespers with a sermon will be celebrated at 6.30 pm.

Friday 25 September: Baptism

The second day recalls that Francis’s journey towards holiness began, as ours does, with the grace of Baptism. The faithful will be invited to renew their baptismal promises at the ancient font where both Saint Francis and Saint Clare were baptised. The Cathedral of San Rufino is dedicated to Saint Rufinus, Assisi’s first bishop and martyr, who brought Christianity to the city and baptised its first Christians in AD 278.

Holy Mass will be celebrated here at 5.30 pm, followed by Vespers at 6.30 pm.

Saturday 26 September: Childhood and the city of Assisi

Saturday’s events move into the civic heart of Assisi: Piazza del Comune. Before his conversion, this piazza would have been at the centre of the young Francis’s social world, a place where he gathered with friends, enjoyed the life of the city and dreamed of wealth, status and becoming a knight. The day places Francis within the community that formed him and which, through his conversion and witness, he would ultimately transform.

At 4.00 pm, Mass will be celebrated in the Lower Basilica of Saint Francis in memory of the victims of the 1997 earthquake. At 6.30 pm, Vespers will take place on the steps of the Temple of Minerva, transforming a place associated with Francis’s youthful ambitions into a place of prayer and remembrance. A convivial evening will follow in Piazza del Comune, with medieval entertainment at 7.45 pm and local food offered by the Assisi Crossbowmen at 8.00 pm.

Sunday 27 September: The renunciation

The Sanctuary of the Renunciation will be at the heart of Sunday’s programme. It was here that Francis publicly relinquished his wealth, status and claim to his earthly inheritance, placing his trust entirely in God. His renunciation was not simply a rejection of possessions; it marked the beginning of a new freedom, the freedom to belong completely to the Father.

Today, the sanctuary is also home to the tomb of Saint Carlo Acutis who died only twenty years ago. Francis and Carlo may have lived eight centuries apart, yet both recognised that true freedom is found not in possessions, popularity or worldly success, but in making God the centre of one’s life. The presence of both Francis and Carlo makes this sanctuary a remarkable meeting place between two young saints whose witness continues to speak from the streets of Assisi.

Guided visits to the Bishop’s Palace and the Door of Saint Francis will take place at 12.00 noon in English. All other guided visits are in Italian. Mass will be celebrated in English at 4.00 pm and vespers, in Italian, at 6.30 pm.

Monday 28 September: A time for prayer and reflection

Francis’s path was not revealed to him all at once. His conversion included a long period of searching, questioning and learning to recognise the voice of God. The silence of the Carceri reminds us that discernment requires space: time away from distraction in which we can also listen, pray and allow God to lead us.

At 5.00 pm, a youth pilgrimage will depart from the Eremo delle Carceri and descend towards the Basilica of Saint Clare. Shuttle buses will be available for the return journey to the hermitage, but must be booked by 26 September by telephoning 392 8616344.

Vespers will be celebrated in the Basilica of Saint Clare at 6.30 pm.

Tuesday 29 September: The encounter with the Crucifix

Tuesday recalls one of the defining moments of Francis’s conversion: his encounter with Christ before the Crucifix of San Damiano. Today we will connect the Crucifix that Francis saw with the sacred place in which he heard Christ speak. It invites us not only to remember his encounter, but to stand before the same image of the crucified Christ and ask: What is God calling me to repair?

At 5.00 pm, a pilgrimage will depart from the Chapel of the Crucifix in the Basilica of Saint Clare, where the original San Damiano Crucifix is now preserved, and continue to the Sanctuary of San Damiano, the place where Francis knelt before it and heard Christ call him to “repair my Church.”

Vespers will be celebrated at San Damiano at 6.30 pm.

Wednesday 30 September: Fraternity and service to lepers

Wednesday’s programme takes us to Rivotorto, outside the walls of Assisi, where Francis and his first brothers began living together in poverty, prayer and fraternity, and then to the little church of Santa Maria Maddalena, associated with their service to people affected by leprosy. The place of the early Franciscans.

Rivotorto reminds us that the Franciscan way of life was born not only in prayer, but in fraternity and service. Francis’s encounter with the leper changed his heart: what had once seemed bitter became sweetness, because in the person he had feared and avoided, he encountered Christ.

At 4.00 pm, a guided visit will take place at the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena, the site of a former leper hospital from the time of Saint Francis. It recalls Francis’s encounter with people affected by leprosy and his decision to live with the first friars in their service.

A procession will leave Santa Maria Maddalena at 5.00 pm and continue to the Sanctuary of Rivotorto. The Holy Rosary will be prayed at 6.00 pm, followed by Vespers with preaching at 6.30 pm. The evening will conclude with a convivial gathering in the sanctuary cloister.

Thursday 1 October: Forgiveness, fraternity and mission

Thursday’s programme takes place in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, built around the little chapel of the Porziuncola, the place Francis loved above all others. Here, the first Franciscan fraternity took shape, the friars were sent out to preach the Gospel, and the grace of the Pardon of Assisi proclaimed the limitless mercy of God. It therefore brings together perfectly the themes of the day: fraternity, mission and forgiveness. We remember too that the Porziuncola was not only the place from which Francis’s mission began. It was also the place to which he asked to be brought as his earthly life drew to its close.

Eucharistic Adoration will begin at the Papal Altar at 9.30 am. At 12 noon, a missionary Rosary will be prayed inside the Porziuncola. A penitential catechesis will begin at 4.30 pm, with the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Vespers with preaching will conclude the day at 6.30 pm.

Friday 2 October: Francis blesses Assisi

The nine-day journey concludes at Villa Gualdi, the historic site where Francis is remembered as blessing Assisi. It is a fitting conclusion: after walking through the events of Francis’s life, pilgrims receive the blessing he gave to the city that still carries his spirit and welcomes those who come searching for peace.

Visitors can explore the ancient Augustinian monastery of San Salvatore at 11.00 am and 16.00 pm and the tradition of Francis blessing his “Seraphic City.”

Vespers will be celebrated at 6.30 pm, followed by a time of fellowship.

The Transitus and the Feast of Saint Francis

The novena leads directly into the great celebrations of 3 and 4 October.

On the evening of 3 October, the Franciscan family commemorates the Transitus of Saint Francis, his passage from this life into eternal life. On 4 October, the Church celebrates his feast, with Assisi becoming the focus of national and international prayer.

In this 800th anniversary year, these days will carry a significance that may not be experienced again in our lifetime.

But the deepest invitation of the centenary is not simply to attend an event. It is to rediscover Francis: a man who allowed the Gospel to change every part of his life.

To walk through Assisi during these nine days will be to follow that transformation step by step, from birth and Baptism to conversion, prayer, service, fraternity, mission and, ultimately, eternal life.

Eight hundred years after his death, Saint Francis still speaks.

He calls us back to Christ.

He calls us to peace.

He calls us to recognise one another as brothers and sisters.

He calls us all to rebuild our Church.

And he reminds us that the Gospel can still be lived simply, courageously and joyfully.

If you are travelling to Assisi and would like help planning a prayerful visit, pilgrimage or retreat, please contact me at gwen@viaassisi.com or visit viaAssisi.com.

Pray with Assisi During the Novena

For those who cannot be physically present in Assisi, I will be sharing a short daily prayer and reflection from 24 September to 2 October, based on the official theme for each day.

I will also publish a separate English guide to the principal celebrations taking place in Assisi on 3 and 4 October, including the Transitus, the national celebration of the Feast of Saint Francis and the special events marking the 800th anniversary of his passage into eternal life.

Subscribe to receive each daily reflection and the complete guide directly by email.