The stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi represent one of the most fascinating and debated episodes in Christian history. Even today, they divide believers and non-believers, as well as Catholics themselves, oscillating between faith, devotion, mystical interpretation, and historical-critical reading. To better understand the significance of this phenomenon, it may be helpful to begin with a comparison with another great stigmatist in the Catholic tradition: Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, and then trace the first recognized case in chronological order, that of Saint Francis of Assisi.

The two human, social and religious stories could not be more different.

If you want to learn more about St. Francis and his inner journey, you can also read this article dedicated to his "life change": "St. Francis: I give up everything and change my life"

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina and the stigmata

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, proclaimed a saint by Pope John Paul II in 2002, is one of the most well-known and controversial figures in the modern history of Catholic stigmata. According to tradition, he received the stigmata of Christ's Passion on September 20, 1918, at the age of thirty-one: open, painful, and bleeding wounds that remained visible for approximately fifty years, until his death on September 23, 1968.

The story of Padre Pio clearly demonstrates how the phenomenon of the stigmata not only generated popular devotion, but also suspicion, investigations, ecclesiastical scrutiny, and tensions within the Catholic Church itself. Over the years, the Pietrelcina friar was examined by numerous doctors and subjected to conflicting assessments. Alongside the veneration of the faithful, he faced misunderstandings, accusations, and restrictive measures from the Holy See.

In 1931, he was forbidden to hear confessions, celebrate Mass in public, engage in his usual spiritual correspondence, or have regular contact with the faithful. He was left only with the option of celebrating Mass privately in the convent's internal chapel. In that ordeal, Padre Pio presented himself as a man of obedience: he accepted the decisions of his superiors even when they were particularly burdensome. After about two years, in 1933, the harshest restrictions were eased, and the friar was able to resume the public celebration of Mass and the ministry of confession.

Padre Pio was declared venerable in 1997, beatified on May 2, 1999, and canonized on June 16, 2002, by John Paul II. His spiritual testament is often summed up in the phrase: "Love Our Lady and make her loved. Always recite the Rosary," an expression that captures the heart of his Marian spirituality.

Among the most well-known critics of the supernatural nature of his stigmata was Father Agostino Gemelli, a Franciscan friar, physician, psychologist, and founder of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. His opposition fueled the ecclesiastical and scientific debate surrounding Padre Pio. In a curious twist of history, Pope John Paul II himself—the pontiff who would proclaim Padre Pio a saint—was hospitalized several times at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, which he himself jokingly called his "Third Vatican."

Saint Francis of Assisi and the stigmata of La Verna

Saint Francis of Assisi, canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1228, received the stigmata in 1224, towards the end of his life. This event occurred two years before the saint's death in 1226 and became one of the most important episodes in Franciscan spirituality.

According to tradition, Francis was on La Verna during a period of retreat, fasting, and prayer, when he had a vision of a crucified Seraph. From that mystical experience, he received the five wounds of Christ's Passion: in his hands, feet, and side.

In the case of Saint Francis, we obviously don't have modern medical documentation, as we do for figures closer to us, but we do have a very ancient and factual tradition that presents the stigmata as a central element of the last years of his life. This fact makes the episode crucial not only on a devotional level, but also for understanding the image of Francis as a man totally conformed to Christ.

Then there is a profoundly Franciscan element: Francis would have sought to hide those marks, not to display them. This is important because the stigmata of Saint Francis were not conceived as a devotional spectacle, but as an intimate, painful, and mystical experience. They are not a "prize," but a wound: the seal of a radical conformity to the crucified Christ.

From this perspective, the stigmata represent the passage from chosen poverty to incarnate poverty. After renouncing possessions, power, glory, and security, Francis comes to bear within his own body the mystery of divine vulnerability. It is as if his body becomes a living manuscript of the Passion.

This theme of transformation runs through medieval culture, from spirituality to knowledge. We also find it in the studies of Leonardo Fibonacci.

Similarities and differences between the stigmata of St. Francis and Padre Pio

There are profound similarities and decisive differences between the stigmata of Saint Francis and the stigmata of Padre Pio, as often happens in great human, spiritual, and religious events.

The main differences concern, first and foremost, the historical context. Saint Francis belongs to the Middle Ages, while Padre Pio lived in the twentieth century, the so-called "short century": an era marked by modern medicine, the media, ecclesiastical investigations, and mass popular devotion. The manner, age, and circumstances in which the stigmata are received also changed, as did the way they were received by the clergy and the faithful.

In the case of Saint Francis of Assisi, the stigmata became a sort of seal of his mission and Franciscan identity: the ultimate sign of his conformity to the poor and crucified Christ. In Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, however, the stigmata were part of a daily priestly mission: hearing confessions, celebrating Mass, guiding souls, welcoming crowds of faithful, and founding charitable works.

The most profound similarity, however, remains this: in both cases, Christian tradition does not present the stigmata as a spectacular phenomenon, but as a sign of conformity to the crucified Christ. Saint Francis appears transformed into the image of the Beloved; Padre Pio lives his vocation under the sign of the Cross, the Mass, and sacramental reconciliation. Two lives far removed in time and context, yet united by the same core: participation in the mystery of the Passion.

The stigmata of St. Francis in our facsimile reproductions

Our catalog features two facsimile reproductions dedicated to the moment when Saint Francis receives the stigmata. These two works differ in period, style, and spiritual sensibility, but they share the same iconographic and devotional core: the saint's conformation to the crucified Christ.

The first is a precious facsimile reproduction of an illuminated page from a missal dated 1275, attributed to Rinaldo da Siena. The work is now housed at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and represents a particularly significant testimony to the iconographic popularity of the stigmata of Saint Francis as early as the 13th century.

The second reproduction accompanies a Gospel and is based on a work by Dono Doni, an artist born in Assisi in the early sixteenth century. We are therefore approximately three centuries later than the thirteenth-century miniature, in a now different artistic and religious context, but still deeply rooted in Franciscan devotion.

This comparison clearly shows how the figurative tradition of the stigmata of Saint Francis developed very early and continues to maintain its strength over the centuries, up to the present day, suspended between faith, devotion and historical questions.

A recent visit to Orvieto Cathedral reminded me how crucial images are to transmitting and maintaining the faith. In this sense, too, the two works dedicated to the stigmata of Saint Francis show the same episode from different perspectives, yet they share an essential element: the direct connection between the body of the Crucifix and the body of the saint.

In the 1275 miniature, attributed to Rinaldo da Siena, the scene is enclosed in the precious space of the illuminated letter. Rays of light emanate from the crucified Seraph and reach the parts of Francis's body marked by the stigmata: his hands, feet, and side. The five dark marks, clearly visible but not bleeding, are therefore not isolated elements: they directly correspond to Christ's wounds. Where the hands of the Crucified are, the rays of light reach Francis's hands; where the feet are, they reach his feet; from the wounded side comes the mark on the saint's side. The miniature thus makes visible, with essential and symbolic language, the central theme of Saint Francis's conformity to the crucified Christ.

The work, based on Dono Doni's work, created in the 16th century, develops the same theme in a more narrative and dramatic form. The scene appears broader, brighter, and more animated: here too, the rays of light reach Saint Francis at the five points of his stigmata, but the overall effect is more theatrical and spiritually intense. The saint almost seems to abandon himself to the gift he has received, while the light forcefully emphasizes the divine origin of the event.

The comparison between the two images thus shows how the iconography of the stigmata of Saint Francis has developed over the centuries without losing its essential core. In the thirteenth century, a more intimate, symbolic, and liturgical representation prevails; in the sixteenth century, a more narrative, emotional, and luminous interpretation. In both cases, however, the image affirms the same idea: Francis receives in his own body the signs of the Passion and becomes a living image of the crucified Christ.

The representation of the stigmata is part of a broader visual tradition, where art and symbol are deeply intertwined.

Conclusion

The stigmata of Saint Francis remain one of the most intense and complex signs of Christian spirituality: an event that spans faith, history, art, and devotion. From the mystical silence of La Verna to the modern testimony of Padre Pio, the stigmata continue to challenge believers and non-believers alike, demonstrating how profoundly the mystery of the Cross has shaped Western religious imagination.

In our facsimile reproductions, this theme is not only narrated, but made visible: the images allow us to grasp how Franciscan tradition has interpreted, over the centuries, the moment when Francis becomes, in body and spirit, a living image of the crucified Christ. Precisely for this reason, observing these works means entering a story that belongs not only to the past, but continues to speak today of faith, beauty, pain, and transformation.

If you want to see how this moment has been represented over the centuries, you can discover our reproductions dedicated to the stigmata of Saint Francis