Francis of Assisi Jubilee celebrated locally, globally15 min read

The student body at St. Mary’s School in Tomahawk made a field trip to St. Francis of Assisi Church in Pier Willow for Mass and a talk about the church’s patron saint for his Oct. 4 feast day. Students also enjoyed a picnic lunch on the church grounds and outdoor playtime. (Submitted photo)

Jenny Snarski
Catholic Herald staff

Pope Leo XIV has proclaimed a Jubilee year commemorating the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi on Oct. 3, 1226. The Jubilee began Jan. 10 and continues through the same date in 2027.

The liturgical feast of St. Francis, Oct. 4, coincides with the day he died. Worldwide, events have been mounting toward the Oct. 3 “Transitus”—meaning “passage”—that Franciscans celebrate with prayer services marking the saint’s transition to eternal life.

The Vatican decree proclaiming the Jubilee noted, “Francis … as the son of a wealthy merchant, became poor and humble, a true alter Christus on earth, providing the world with tangible examples of evangelical life and a real image of Christian perfection. Our times are not very different from those in which Francis lived, and precisely in light of this, his teachings are perhaps even more valid and understandable today.

“When Christian charity languishes, ignorance spreads like bad habits, and those who extol harmony among peoples do so more out of selfishness than out of a sincere Christian spirit; when the virtual takes precedence over the real, social discord and violence are part of everyday life, and peace becomes more uncertain and distant every day; may this Year of Saint Francis urge us all, each according to our own possibilities, to imitate the  Poverello of Assisi, to mold ourselves as much as possible on the model of Christ, to not let the intentions of the Holy Year just passed be in vain: may the hope that saw us as pilgrims now be transformed into zeal and fervor of active charity.”

At the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Italy, the church bells will toll at midnight. Basilica representative Friar Giulio Cesareo invited churches and shrines “throughout the world to join in this simple yet meaningful gesture, to usher us together into the feast of the Saint of Assisi, the universal brother.”

Diocese of Superior

The missionary and pastoral presence of Franciscan orders in Northwest Wisconsin began in 1878, almost 150 years ago, before the Diocese of Superior was canonically established. Although the official service of Franciscan friars from the Sacred Heart Province ended in 2019, the spirituality and service of religious and lay Franciscans continue today.

Besides multiple parishes under the patronage of Franciscan saints, including Francis of Assisi himself, Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and School Sisters of St. Francis serve within the Diocese of Superior as well as the Franciscan-affiliated Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross.

Alongside these are groups of Secular Franciscans, each participating in the 800th anniversary and Jubilee in their own ways.

The Franciscan associates of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross celebrated with the Sisters in Merrill on Oct. 4 at their Clare Center motherhouse.

The Our Lady Queen of the Universe Secular Franciscan Fraternity in Woodruff hosted Francis Prayer Walks after Masses on the Oct. 3-4 weekend. In honor of St. Francis’ love of animals, bags of birdseed were handed out at the walk. There was also a blessing of the animals on Oct. 3 after the Saturday afternoon Mass, an annual event in many diocesan parishes, and dog and cat treats and prayer cards for attendees.

Rhinelander is home to the St. John Neumann Secular Fraternity of Franciscans, and Hayward has an emergent fraternity with new candidates. That group participated in “An encounter

with St. Francis: Celebrating the life and legacy of Francis” at Holy Family Catholic Church in Duluth on Saturday, Oct. 3, with a presentation offered by speaker Michael Krueger, Director of Affiliation for the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. More on the event will be printed in a separate article.

As is typical during a Jubilee year, pilgrimages are encouraged. Within the Diocese of Superior, multiple parishes are named after St. Francis and other Franciscans. Under the direct patronage of St. Francis of Assisi are the parishes in Red Cliff, Fifield, Flambeau and Pier Willow. There is also St. Francis Solanus in Reserve and multiple parishes dedicated to the Franciscan St. Anthony of Padua: Lake Nebagamon and Superior/Allouez, Highbridge, Tony, Park Falls, Gordon and Lac du Flambeau.

The clustered parishes centered in Our Lady of the Lakes in Ashland and Holy Family in Bayfield have rich Franciscan histories.

Located on the Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Reservation in Reserve, St. Francis Solanus Parish and school remain a tribute to the missionary heritage of Franciscans in the diocese. The mission is open to visitors year-round and features a souvenir shop with Indian handcrafts and imported religious articles. See stfrancismission.org for more information and Mass times.

The diocese’s Secular Franciscans encourage Catholics to embrace the values of simplicity, care for all creation, peacemaking and service to the poor and marginalized as modeled by St. Francis. An 11-minute video, “Who is the REAL St. Francis?” summarizes his message of love and hope, and can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDvr6IMjxl4.

Pope Leo XIV, in his Oct. 4 Sunday Angelus message, noted that God guides history and comes to our aid whenever we fail. He recalled Francis of Assisi as “a laborer who worked with great fruitfulness in the Lord’s vineyard… whom Jesus himself asked to repair his Church.

“Inspired by the Crucified One, Francis first and foremost built his own life upon the foundation of Christ, sharing in his poverty, joy and sufferings, even to the point of receiving the mystical sign of the stigmata.  A man of fervent prayer, full of charity toward all, he was an example to the first friars who shared his asceticism as an authentic condition for the reform of the church. St. Francis repaired the church by virtue of his faith in the Lord Jesus, healing the rifts of discord through the witness of fraternal love.

“Dear friends,” the Holy Father concluded, “the charism of St. Francis continues to bear fruit even today, after eight centuries. This is attested to, not only by the great and vibrant Franciscan family, but also by the many gifts that his spiritual legacy bestows upon the people of God.  As we celebrate the Franciscan Jubilee Year, therefore, let us perseveringly ask for the gift of peace and sincerely commit ourselves to building harmony among peoples.”