Portiuncula, also spelled Porziuncola or Porzioncula, is a small
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
church located within the
Papal Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi in the ''
frazione
A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...
'' of
Santa Maria degli Angeli, situated about from
Assisi
Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and ''comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born aroun ...
,
Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, ...
(central Italy). It is the place from where the
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
movement started.
The name Portiuncola (meaning “small portion of land”) was first mentioned in a document from 1045, now in the archives of the
Assisi Cathedral
Assisi Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Assisi or ''Cattedrale di San Rufino di Assisi''), dedicated to San Rufino (Rufinus of Assisi) is a major church in Assisi, Italy. This stately church in Umbrian Romanesque style was the third church built o ...
.
History
According to a legend, whose existence can be traced back with certainty only to 1645, the little chapel of Porziuncola was erected under
Pope Liberius
Pope Liberius (310 – 24 September 366) was the bishop of Rome from 17 May 352 until his death. According to the '' Catalogus Liberianus'', he was consecrated on 22 May as the successor to Pope Julius I. He is not mentioned as a saint in t ...
(352-366) by hermits from the
Valley of Josaphat, who had brought relics from the grave of the Blessed Virgin. The same legend relates that the chapel passed into the possession of
Benedict of Nursia
Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Orient ...
in 516. It was known as Our Lady of the Valley of Josaphat or of the Angels – the latter title referring, according to some, to the
assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows:
We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...
accompanied by angels; a better-founded opinion attributes the name to a legend attesting to the singing of angels which had been frequently heard there.
The chapel was located on a small portion of land ("Portiuncula") belonging to the
Order of Saint Benedict
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...
of
Monte Subasio
Mount Subasio is a mountain of the Apennine mountains, in the province of Perugia, Umbria, central Italy. On its slopes are located the ancient towns of Assisi and Spello.
The mountain stands about 1290 metres above sea level.
Its pink color ...
. Later, the name of the land passed to the little church itself.
It was in bad condition, lying abandoned in a wood of oak trees.
After a pilgrimage to Rome, where he begged at the church doors for the poor,
Francis
Francis may refer to:
People
*Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome
*Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Francis (surname)
Places
* Rural M ...
said he had had a mystical vision of Jesus Christ in the wayside chapel of San Damiano, about two miles outside of Assisi, in which the Icon of Christ Crucified came alive and said to him three times, "Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins". Francis took this literally to mean the ruined church in which he was presently praying, and so sold his horse and some cloth from his father's store, to assist the priest there for this purpose. His father Pietro, highly indignant, sought restitution. After a final interview in the presence of the bishop, Francis renounced his father and his patrimony, laying aside even the garments he had received from him. For the next couple of months he lived as a beggar in the region of Assisi. Returning to the town for two years this time, he restored several ruined churches, among them the Porziuncola, little chapel of St Mary of the Angels, just outside the town.
![Evora66](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Evora66.jpg)
Francis built himself a small hut near the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels and was soon joined by others. Here he founded the
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
s. Around 1211 the small chapel was given to Francis by the
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
of Saint Benedict of Monte Subasio on condition of making it the mother house of his religious family. On Palm Sunday 1211 St Francis received in this church
Clare of Assisi
Clare of Assisi (born Chiara Offreduccio and sometimes spelled Clara, Clair, Claire, Sinclair; 16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253) was an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladie ...
and founded the Second Order of the Poor Ladies
Poor Clares. Adjoining this humble sanctuary, already dear to Francis, the first Franciscan convent was formed by the erection of a few small huts or cells of wattle, straw, and mud, and enclosed by a hedge.
[
The General Chapters, the annual meetings of the friars, were held in this church usually during ]Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
(months of May – June).
Feeling his end approaching, St Francis asked to be brought back to the Portiuncola in September 1226. On his death-bed St Francis recommended the chapel to the faithful protection and care of his brethren. He died, in his cell, not fifteen yards from the church, at sunset on Saturday, 3 October 1226.
However this may be, here or in this neighbourhood was the cradle of the Franciscan Order. After the death of Francis, the spiritual value and the charisma of the Porziuncola became even greater. St Francis himself pointed out the Portiuncola as a primary source of inspiration and a model for all his followers.
Later developments
Concerning the form and plan of the first monastery built near the chapel we have no information, nor is the exact form of the loggia or platforms built round the chapel itself, or of the choir for the brothers built behind it, known. Shortly after 1290, the chapel, which measured only about 5.5 by 3.2 m, became entirely inadequate to accommodate the throngs of pilgrims. The altar piece, an ''Annunciation'', was painted by the priest Hilarius of Viterbo in 1393. The monastery was at most the residence, only for a short time, of the ministers-general of the order after St Francis. In 1415 it first became associated with the Regular Observance, in the care of which it remains to the present day.
Decorations of the Porziuncola
This tiny church is exquisitely decorated by artists from different periods. On the façade, above the entrance outside, is a fresco by Johann Friedrich Overbeck (1829), depicting St Francis receiving from Christ and the Virgin the indulgence, known as the “Pardon of Assisi”. The German painter Overbeck was a member of the Nazarene movement, a group of painters who aimed to revive honesty and spirituality in Christian art. At the base of this fresco is a small rectangular fresco beneath which are the Latin words ''Haec est porta vitae aeternae'' ("This is the gate to eternal life").
The outside wall to the right of the entrance shows fragments of two frescoes by unknown Umbrian artists. In the 19th century a door was opened in the same wall, to control the flow of pilgrims. The left outside wall includes the tombstone of Pietro Cattani
Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
People
* Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice
* Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death
* Pietro II Can ...
, who died on 10 March 1221. (St Francis was still alive at the time of his death). At the back, above the entrance, is the fresco ''Crucifixion'' by Perugino
Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil.
Ear ...
, painted around 1485. It was badly damaged during the construction of the basilica. The 15th century door is decorated with floral motifs. On top of the Porziuncola stands a small Gothic belfry.
The interior is austere and simple. Some of the rough, squared stones, taken from Mount Subasio, were put in place by the saint himself while repairing this little church. It is decorated in a simple Gothic style with frescoes from the 14th and the 15th century. But the masterpiece is the six-part fresco in the apse of this little church, painted by the priest Ilario da Viterbo (1393):
*''The Annunciation'' (middle)
*''St Francis Throws Himself into the Thorny Brambles'' (right)
*''St Francis Accompanied by Two Angels'' (right)
*''Apparition of Christ and the Virgin, Accompanied by 60 Angels, with St Francis Offering Roses'' (top)
*''St Francis imploring pope Honorius III the Confirmation of the Indulgence'' (left)
*''St Francis Promulgates the Indulgence, Accompanied by the Bishops of Umbria'' (left)
The pavement on the floor is now restored to its original appearance by the restorations following the earthquake of 1997.
Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli
The buildings which had been gradually added to the shrine were taken down by order of Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
(1566–1572), except the cell in which St Francis had died, and were replaced by a large basilica in contemporary style. The new edifice was erected over the cell just mentioned and over the Portiuncula chapel, which is situated immediately under the cupola. The basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
, which has three naves and a circle of chapels extending along the entire length of the aisles, was completed (1569–78) according to the plans of Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, assisted by Galeazzo Alessi.
In the night of 15 March 1832, the arch of the three naves and of the choir fell in, in consequence of an earthquake, the cupola sporting a big crack. Gregory XVI had all restored in 1836-1840, and on 8 September 1840 the basilica was reconsecrated by Cardinal Lambruschini. By Brief of 11 April 1909, Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...
raised it to a "patriarchal basilica
In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular b ...
and papal chapel". The high altar was therefore immediately rebuilt at the expense of the Franciscan province of the Holy Cross (also known as the Saxon province), and a papal throne added. Under the bay of the choir, resting against the columns of the cupola, is still preserved the cell in which St Francis died, while, a little behind the sacristy, is the spot where the saint, during a temptation, is said to have rolled in a briar-bush, which was then changed into thornless roses. During this same night the saint received the Porziuncola Indulgence.
Feast Day and Portiuncola Indulgence
Franciscans continue to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Angels of the Porzioncula on August 2, which marks the dedication of the church.
The Porziuncola Indulgence could at first be gained only in the Porziuncola chapel between the afternoon of 1 August and sunset on 2 August. On 5 August 1480 (or 1481), Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...
extended it to all churches of the first and second orders of St Francis for Franciscans. On 4 July 1622, Gregory XV
Pope Gregory XV ( la, Gregorius XV; it, Gregorio XV; 9 January 15548 July 1623), born Alessandro Ludovisi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 to his death in July 1623.
Biography
Early life
Al ...
extended the privilege to all the faithful, who, after confession and the reception of Holy Communion, visited such churches on the appointed day. On 12 October 1622, Gregory XV granted the same privilege to all the churches of the Capuchins. Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...
granted it for all churches of the regular Third Order on 13 January 1643, and Clement X
Pope Clement X ( la, Clemens X; it, Clemente X; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death in July 1676. Elected pope at ag ...
for all churches of the Conventuals on 3 October 1670.
While papal declarations made the Porziuncola Indulgence indisputable from the juridico-canonistic standpoint, its historical authenticity (i.e. origin from St Francis) remains in question. None of the old legends of St Francis mentions the Indulgence, nor does any contemporary document mention it. The oldest document mentioning the Indulgence is a notary's deed of 31 October 1277, in which Blessed Benedict of Arezzo (whom St Francis himself received into the order) testifies that he had been informed by Brother Masseo (a companion of St Francis) that Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...
granted the indulgence at Perugia. Later testimonies include those of Jacob Cappoli concerning Brother Leo, of Oddo of Acquasparta, Peter Zalfani, Peter John Olivi (who wrote a scholastic tract defending this indulgence about 1279), John of Laverna, Ubertino da Casale
Ubertino of Casale (1259 – c. 1329) was an Italian Franciscan and one of the leaders (together with Michael of Cesena) of the Spirituals, the stricter branch of the Franciscan order.
Life
Ubertino was born in Casale Monferrato. He assumed the ...
, and Francis of Fabriano (whose testimony goes back to the year 1268).
Later popes extended the privilege to all churches pertaining in any way to the Franciscan Order, even to churches in which the Third Order held its meetings (even parish churches, etc.), provided that there was no Franciscan church in the district, and that such a church was distant over an Italian mile (1000 paces). Even districts and countries could receive special privileges.
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
completely reformed the grants of indulgences, after the Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
. His Apostolic Constitution ''Indulgentiarum Doctrina'' (1967) yet again confirmed the Portiuncula Indulgence. According to the ''Enchiridion Indulgentiarum'', Catholic faithful may gain a plenary indulgence on 2 August (the Portiuncula) or on such other day as designated by the local ordinary for the advantage of the faithful, under the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff), by devoutly visiting the parish church, and there reciting at least the Lord's Prayer and the Creed. The Indulgence applies to the cathedral church of the diocese, and to the co-cathedral church (if there is one), even if they are not parochial, and also to quasi-parochial churches. To gain this, as any plenary indulgence, the faithful must be free from any attachment to sin, even venial sin. Where this entire detachment is wanting, the indulgence is partial.
Porziuncola in America
In San Francisco, California, there is a replica of the Porziuncola Chapel. The Archdiocese of San Francisco built a 78% scale copy of the original chapel in a former gymnasium adjoining the Church of the National Shrine of St Francis of Assisi in The City's North Beach District. It opened in September 2008 and in 2010 was placed under the care of the Capuchin Franciscan friars of the Western American Province.
Other replicas exist within the United States of America including:
*Cardinal Cushing School, Hanover, MA.
* Franciscan University of Steubenville, replica built in 1987.
*Mayslake Peabody Estate
The Mayslake Peabody Estate is an estate constructed as a country home for Francis Stuyvesant Peabody between 1919 and 1922. The estate is located in the western Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, Illinois, United States, and is now part of the Ma ...
in Oak Brook, Il.
* Mount St Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery in Washington, DC.
*Built by the Assumption BVM Province of Franciscan Friars in Burlington, WI, in 1940.
*Lourdes University
Lourdes University is a private Franciscan university in Sylvania, Ohio. Established in 1958, the university is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania.
History
In 1916 Mother Adelaide Sandusky traveled from Minnesota to Northwest ...
in Sylvania, OH.
In addition, the city of Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
was (indirectly) named for it: "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula". See Los Angeles River for background.
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
External links
Official site of the Porziuncola
{{Coord missing, Italy
Roman Catholic churches in Assisi
Franciscan spirituality