Franciscan Sanctuaries

Greccio

The beautiful Reiti Valley south of Assisi is surrounded by mountains, the most famous of these being Mt Terminillo which attracts tourists to skiing and winter sports. However the valley attracts Franciscans to places that were favourites of Francis and recall for us special times in his life – Greccio, Poggio Bustone, La Foresta and Fonte Colombo.

Greccio, perched on the top of a sheer crag, was in the days of Francis nothing more than a series of joined caves. It was a favourite place place and from the early days of the order was the site of a humble 'convento'.

While much of this ancient site is preserved, today there are modern buildings as well including a large Church which reminds us all year round of Christmas with its display of cribs – some of which have ingenious moving figures, flowing water and beautiful lighting. But why cribs all year round?

Two weeks before Christmas in 1223 Francis was staying at Greccio. He called a friend of his, John Vellita, who owned a castle nearby, to help him in preparing a special celebration for the coming feast. He asked that animals and hay be brought to a cave at the hermitage, so that a scene could be prepared to show the people of the town, and his own Brothers, the physical conditions of the Birth of Jesus. He wanted people to be able to experience what it was like for the Son of God to be born in a stable, surrounded by the ox and ass, lying on straw and experiencing the cold. Francis’s brothers and the people of Greccio gathered at the cave on Christmas Eve, lighting up the night with torches, singing hymns, with a priest celebrating Mass on an altar over the manger. Francis, dressed as a Deacon, sang the Gospel and preached the sermon. This kind of Nativity scene was destined to be spread by Franciscans throughout the world as they moved out from Assisi in the following centuries. It is now a familiar feature of Christmas celebrations throughout the world. The origins of the Nativity scene were a striking affirmation of God’s entry into the mundane, everyday life of poor people.

What impressed Francis so deeply about the feast of Christ’s birth, was its simplicity, humility and poverty. In many ways, Christmas helped to form Francis’s notion of who God is. What the Christmas Eve celebration at Greccio depicts is what the Gospel describes for us.

At Greccio, simplicity was honoured,
poverty was exalted,
humility was commended
and Greccio was made a new Bethelem.

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