Nuestro Padre San Francisco de Asis

This article was written by Fr. Bill McNichols,
the artist of the icon of St. Francis in the Church

It is not an exaggeration to say that Francis was probably one of the few true fundamentalists that ever lived.  Following his conversion at age 25, the Gospels became his road map.  Because Jesus said "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me," Francis named his group the Frati Minori, meaning “the Least Brothers.”

By the time Francis was in his early 40s he felt like a failure.  His Least Brothers had grown from 12 to over 3,000 and he could no longer guide or control them.  Following a dream, he surrendered his Order to the Pope and went to Mount La Verna, north of Assisi, to bemoan the sins of his failure.  

While on the mountain, Francis asked Jesus to grant him two graces in order that he might completely follow the Gospels.  First, he asked to feel in his whole being the pain that Jesus felt as he died on Mount Calvary.  Secondly, he asked to experience the depth of the love that Christ had that made Him capable of forgiving our sins even as he hung from the Cross.

Francis had a vision of a six-winged angel, a Seraph, coming from the sky; the angel appeared as the crucified Christ.  In answer to his prayer he felt both the pain of the Cross and the love of Christ.  Francis lived two more years bearing the physical wounds of Christ – he was the first person ever to receive the stigmata.  During those brief years he continued to heal with his wounds.  When the brothers would wash out the bandages, the rinse water would be used to heal sick animals and people. For me this is the most beautiful part of the story as we are all asked to continue to work with and heal with our wounds; they don't disappear.

I've lost count of how many times I've drawn, painted or created icons of the love of Francis for and with, his Seraphic Lord Jesus. It's a meditation and contemplation I never tire of bringing to life; these wounds so ever-present in all of us that Pope Francis has referred to the Church as a "Field Hospital" where we tend to one another, as if on a field of continuing battles.

I hope this image brings you hours of meditation and joy and that it sends you back into the world to share in Jesus' Healing Gifts.