Why September 17th...? - ed.

Francis

St. Francis of Assisi...

The saint had, in his humility, it is said, expressed a wish to be buried on the Colle d'Inferno, a despised hill without Assisi, where criminals were executed. However this may be, his body was, on 4 October, borne in triumphant procession to the city, a halt being made at St. Damian's, that St. Clare and her companions might venerate the sacred stigmata now visible to all, and it was placed provisionally in the church of St. George (now within the enclosure of the monastery of St. Clare), where the saint had learned to read and had first preached. Many miracles are recorded to have taken place at his tomb. Francis was canonized at St. George's by Gregory IX, 16 July, 1228. On that day following the pope laid the first stone of the great double church of St. Francis, erected in honour of the new saint, and thither on 25 May, 1230, Francis's remains were secretly transferred by Brother Elias and buried far down under the high altar in the lower church. Here, after lying hidden for six centuries, like that of St. Clare's, Francis's coffin was found, 12 December, 1818, as a result of a toilsome search lasting fifty-two nights. This discovery of the saint's body is commemorated in the order by a special office on 12 December, and that of his translation by another on 25 May. His feast is kept throughout the Church on 4 October, and the impression of the stigmata* on his body is celebrated on 17 September.


There are few real "accidents" in history. Most things happen when, where and why they do for a reason. The people who participated in the dedication of the Mission dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, including the Bernal family, would have known that this date was chosen for its importance to the memory of the story of St. Francis, for whom the mission, and nearby bay, had been named. - ed.
* Mystical Stigmata

To decide merely the facts without deciding whether or not they may be explained by supernatural causes, history tells us that many ecstatics bear on hands, feet, side, or brow the marks of the Passion of Christ with corresponding and intense sufferings. These are called visible stigmata. Others only have the sufferings, without any outward marks, and these phenomena are called invisible stigmata. Their existence is so well established historically that, as a general thing, they are no longer disputed by unbelievers, who now seek only to explain them naturally. Thus a free-thinking physician, Dr. Dumas, professor of religious psychology at the Sorbonne, clearly admits the facts (Revue des Deux Mondes, 1 May, 1907), as does also Dr. Pierre Janet (Bulletin de l'Institut psychologique international, Paris, July, 1901).

Dr. Imbert has attempted to count the number of stigmatics, with the following results:

      1.None are known prior to the thirteenth century. The first mentioned is St. Francis of Assisi, in whom the stigmata were of a character never seen
subsequently; in the wounds of feet and hands were excrescences of flesh representing nails, those on one side having round back heads, those on the other having rather long points, which bent back and grasped the skin. The saint's humility could not prevent a great many of his brethren beholding with their own eyes the existence of these wonderful wounds during his lifetime as well as after his death. The fact is attested by a number of contemporary historians, and the feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis is kept on 17 September.
      2.Dr. Imbert counts 321 stigmatics in whom there is every reason to believe in a Divine action. He believes that others would be found by consulting the libraries of Germany, Spain, and Italy.
      3.In this list there are 41 men.
      4.There are 62 saints or blessed of both sexes of whom the best known (numbering twenty-six) were:
                   St. Francis of Assisi (1186-1226);
                    St. Lutgarde (1182-1246), a Cistercian;
                    St. Margaret of Cortona (1247-97);
                    St. Gertrude (1256-1302), a Benedictine;
                    St. Clare of Montefalco (1268-1308), an Augustinian;
                    Bl. Angela of Foligno (d. 1309), Franciscan tertiary;
                    St. Catherine of Siena (1347-80), Dominican tertiary;
                    St. Lidwine (1380-1433);
                    St. Frances of Rome (1384-1440);
                    St. Colette (1380-1447), Franciscan;
                    St. Rita of Cassia (1386-1456), Augustinian;
                    Bl. Osanna of Mantua (1499-1505), Dominican tertiary;
                    St. Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510), Franciscan tertiary;
                    Bl. Baptista Varani (1458-1524), Poor Clare;
                    Bl. Lucy of Narni (1476-1547), Dominican tertiary;
                    Bl. Catherine of Racconigi (1486-1547), Dominican;
                    St. John of God (1495-1550), founder of the Order of Charity;
                    St. Catherine de' Ricci (1522-89), Dominican;
                    St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi (1566-1607), Carmelite;
                    Bl. Marie de l'Incarnation (1566-1607), Carmelite;
                    Bl. Mary Anne of Jesus (1557-1620), Franciscan tertiary;
                    Bl. Carlo of Sezze (d. 1670), Franciscan;
                    Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-90), Visitandine (who had only the crown of thorns);
                    St. Veronica Giuliani (1600-1727), Capuchiness;
                    St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds (1715-91), Franciscan tertiary.
      5.There were 20 stigmatics in the nineteenth century. The most famous were:
                    Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824), Augustinian;
                    Elizabeth Canori Mora (1774-1825), Trinitarian tertiary;
                    Anna Maria Taïgi (1769-1837);
                    Maria Dominica Lazzari (1815-48);
                    Marie de Moerl (1812-68) and Louise Lateau (1850-83), Franciscan tertiaries.


Note: the study of history - and the real fun of it - is in uncovering data and trying to uncover the story behind that data. The Stigmata phenomenon may have continued into the twentieth century as well (note that this source was originally published in 1913).
But why did it first appear in the thirteenth century?
It seems to have begun with Francis. Is there anyone alive today that has the Mystical Stigmata, and how might I interview them?

See what I mean?

Fun! - ed.

Both Francis of Assisi and Mystical Stigmata discussions are taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright © 1913 by the Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright © 1996 by New Advent, Inc.

Find the complete, authorized story of St. Francis, the patron of my home city, in the online version of The Catholic Encyclopedia.

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