San Francesco d'Assisi all'Immacolata is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in the city of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

History and description

The construction of the first church at this site (1329) was promoted by Queen Eleanor of Anjou, wife of

Frederick II of Aragon Frederick III (also Frederick II, ', ', '); 13 December 1272 – 25 June 1337) was the regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1291 until 1295 and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Arag ...

, and sister of the Franciscan friar and bishop, St

Louis of Toulouse Saint Louis of Toulouse (9 February 1274 – 19 August 1297), also known as Louis of Anjou, was a Neapolitan prince of the Capetian House of Anjou and a Catholic bishop. Life Louis was born in Brignoles, Provence (or in Italy, at Nocera, whe ...

. This was the first

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

church in town. The Queen was buried here in 1343. Like most churches in town, it was wrecked by the 1693 sicily earthquake and rebuilt in the 17th-century. It contains an 18th-century canvas depicting the Queen and St Clare. The interior has paintings by P. Liotta, G. Rapisardi, G. Zacco. The apse has a fresco by Francesco Battaglia depicting ''St Francis praying at the

Porziuncola The Portiuncula () is a historic chapel in the town of Santa Maria degli Angeli, near Assisi, Italy. It is closely associated with Francis of Assisi and the Order of Friars Minor, who used the chapel as their headquarters. Following Francis's de ...

''.

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; ; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was an Italian opera composer famed for his long, graceful melodies and evocative musical settings. A central figure of the era, he was admired not only ...

was born adjacent to this church in the Palazzo Gravina-Cruyllas, now a civic museum dedicated to the composer.Comune of Catania
monuments of town. In front of the church is the Monument to Blessed Cardinal Giuseppe Dusmet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco Assisi 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Catania