The issue is dedicated specifically to the 800 years anniversary of the receiving of the stigmata by St. Francis of Assisi on Mount La Verna in September 2024. The reflection on the event is centred upon the mystical theology of the Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, who wrote the mystical treatise “Itinerarium mentis in Deum” after a retreat on Mount La Verna. This year we also commemorate 750 years since the death of St. Bonaventure in 1274. Another paper features the Cathedral Church of San Rufino in Assisi and its significance in the life of St. Francis. A concluding reference is made to the new saints of the Custody of the Holy Land who will be canonised by Pope Francis on 20 October, namely the Martyrs of Damascus (1860), as well as to the 800 years since the arrival of the first friars Minor in England (10 September 1224).
by Noel Muscat, ofm
Franciscan Studies 