Tau san francesco dassisi biography

Destined to be the cofounders of one of the largest religious movements to embrace this world, Francis and Clare were born and raised in Assisi, Italy, in the twelfth century. Francis was the son of a cloth merchant, part of the newly formed merchant class. He had everything going for him—his father&#;s thriving business, the chance to ride off to battle with knights, a personality that made him the leader of Assisi&#;s young people, and the money to keep them as his friends. He loved people, parties, singing. He also had a call, a conversion that began when he was captured in battle and thrown into prison.

When poor health caused his release, he returned to his parents&#; home depressed and confused. Long walks in the countryside of Assisi and an intense listening to God gave him the courage to follow his heart. He began to give of his riches—and his father&#;s riches—to the poor. He now found little joy in the revelries of his friends and responding to a call in prayer before the crucifix, he put his energies into rebuilding dilapidated churches.

The Assisi folk called him a fool but Francis knew otherwise. He had found God in the depths of his heart and, in so doing, he found himself. Eventually recognizing in the invitation to &#;rebuild the Church&#; a deeper meaning, Francis set about preaching the Gospel and teaching people to find God in all of creation, in themselves, and in every human activity. Radiating a profound joy, Francis soon attracted followers numbering thousands in just a few years. With great love, Francis wrote for his followers a simple rule to define their life together.

Clare was a dozen years younger than Francis and a member of the noble class. Her life was far more sheltered but like her mother, Clare was known throughout Assisi for her generosity to the poor.

At a young age, Clare developed a deep spirituality and was drawn to the teachings and lifestyle of Francis. She met with him on a numbe

Tau: A Mark of Christian Faith

Followers of Saint Francis throughout the world wear the Tau as a sign of their faith and friendship with the Poor Man from Assisi. Tau is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet and means &#;mark.&#; But what are the origins of the Tau as a sign of Christian faith? As a sign or symbol of faith, the Tau first appears in the Old Testament&#;s Book of Ezekiel in the following passage:

The Lord cried aloud for me to hear: &#;Come, your scourges of the city!&#; With that I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate which faces the north, each with a destroying weapon in his hand. In their midst was a man dressed in linen, with a writer&#;s case at his waist. They entered and stood beside the bronze altar. Then he called to the man dressed in linen with the writer&#;s case at this waist, saying to him: &#;Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and mark a &#;Tau&#; on the foreheads of those who moan and groan over all the abominations that are practiced in it.&#; To the others, I heard the Lord say: &#;Pass through the city after him and strike! Do not look on them with pity nor show any mercy! Old men, youths and maidens, women and children, wipe them out! But do not touch any marked with the &#;Tau&#;. Begin at my sanctuary.&#;

The passage from the Book of Ezekiel continues: So they began with the men, the elders, who were in front of the temple. &#;Defile the temple,&#; he said to them, &#;and fill the courts with the slain; then go out and strike in the city&#;&#; Then the glory of the Lord left the threshold of the temple and rested upon the cherubim. These lifted their wings, and I saw them rise from the earth, the wheels rising among them. They stood at the entrance of the eastern gate of the Lord&#;s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was up above them. Then the cherubim lifted their wings, and the wheels went along with them, while up above them was the glory of the God of Israel (Ezekiel ;

The Assisi Tau, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, is indicated in the Bible as a symbol of salvation and it is the sign with which St. Francis liked to sign letters and blessings.

St. Francis’ love for the Tau was a feeling that stemmed from a passionate veneration for the Holy Cross. It represented the concrete sign of his salvation and Christ’s victory over evil: a true path to redemption through the cross.

Today, the Assisi Tau is a symbol of Franciscan spirituality and embodies values such as love for peace, joy, and creation.

The Humilis project was born with the intention of bringing these values inside precious jewellery to keep them and have them always with you. This is why we made the St. Francis Tau our distinctive signature, the cardinal symbol of our creations, just as the Saint himself made the profound meaning of this sign his own.

Our most distinctive jewellery, inspired by the character of the “Poverello of Assisi”, therefore bears the Tau cross to represent Franciscan values. A tribute that comes to life from the history and teachings that Saint Francis of Assisi left to posterity: his unique signature, engraved in our jewellery belonging to the collections Classica and Segno.

Catholic church of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi

Church in Assisi, Italy

The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi (Italian: Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi; Latin: Basilica Sancti Francisci Assisiensis) is the mother church of the Roman CatholicOrder of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in central Italy, where Saint Francis was born and died. It is a papal minor basilica and one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. With its accompanying friary, Sacro Convento, the basilica is a distinctive landmark to those approaching Assisi. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since

The basilica, which was begun in , is built into the side of a hill and comprises two churches (known as the Upper Church and the Lower Church) and a crypt, where the remains of the saint are interred. The interior of the Upper Church is an important early example of the Gothic style in Italy. The Upper and Lower Churches are decorated with frescoes by numerous late medieval painters from the Roman and Tuscan schools, and include works by Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti, and possibly Pietro Cavallini. The range and quality of the works give the basilica a unique importance in demonstrating the outstanding development of Italian art of this period, especially if compared with the rest of Christian Europe.

History

The Franciscan friary (Sacro Convento) and the Lower and Upper Basilicas (Italian: Basilica inferiore e superiore) of Francis of Assisi were begun in honor of this local saint, immediately after his canonization in Simone di Pucciarello donated the land for the church, a hill at the west side of Assisi, known as "Hill of Hell" (Italian: Colle d'Inferno) where previously criminals were put to death. Today, this hill is called "Hill of Paradise".

On 16 July , Francis was canonized by Pope Gregory IX in Assisi, and he laid the foundati