2011-10-26 18:10:37

Assisi, the city of St Francis, awaits


Final preparations are almost complete in Assisi, the city of St Francis, ahead of a pilgrimage Thursday by Pope Benedict XVI and leaders of the world's religions, a pilgrimage of prayer and reflection for peace. Philippa Hitchen , who is in Assisi, takes a look back to that first historic meeting 25 years ago:

It was a cold, grey day back in October 1986 as the religious leaders arrived in Assisi from countries across the world for that first historic day of prayer for peace, called for by Pope John Paul II. A bold gesture on the part of a Pope who believed deeply in the need to forge new friendships across the faiths, to break down centuries old walls of suspicion, to put into practise the Second Vatican Council’s spirit of openness towards people of other religious traditions and to work together for a new era of peace built, as the Pope put it, upon the four pillars of truth, justice, love and freedom.

Assisi, city of St Francis and St Clare, was an inspired choice for such a meeting. A place of pilgrimage down the centuries since the founding of the first Franciscan and Poor Clare communities in the early 13th century. A city whose art and spirituality have profoundly marked the religious and cultural history of Europe and beyond. A place where, as Pope John XXIII remarked, “the pilgrim almost inadvertently senses the splendour of art and the appeal of holiness.”

Pilgrims from around the world flock here – some six million each year – to walk up the narrow winding streets to the great Basilica of St Francis, built on two levels with the tomb of the saint in the crypt below. They come to admire the famous frescoes by Cimbabue and Giotto, meticulously restored in the wake of the earthquake which struck this city in 1997, or to visit the Porziuncola, the tiny church at the bottom of the hill where Francis died after founding his new order.

Altogether 18 different popes have made a total of 39 visits to this city – Gregory the 9th was the first to come here in 1228 for the canonisation of Francis and the blessing of the first stone for the construction of the new basilica. Four years ago, in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI came here for a pastoral visit marking the eighth centenary of the conversion of St Francis from wealthy bon viveur to simple friar in search of God-s love made manifest in the beauty of all creation.

It’s a grey, wet day again here in Assisi as the city gears up for another historic visit by Pope Benedict who has invited leaders and representatives of the world-s major religions to mark the 25th anniversary of that first day of prayer and to commit themselves anew to the path of justice and peace in the world. Some 300 delegates are expected to join him on this pilgrimage, for a day of reflection, dialogue and prayer, each drawing on the riches of his or her own spiritual tradition in the search for solutions to the many problems and conflicts which continue to cause untold suffering and conflict.

And who knows if, as on that first day of prayer in 1986, the clouds and rain may give way to reveal a rainbow in the sky, reflecting the coloured robes and headgear of believers from so many different countries and cultures gathered together; an unmistakable witness to the desire for peace and unity that lies deep in the heart of each individual. Listen to Philippa Hitchen's report RealAudioMP3








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