The San Damiano complex is an ancient Benedictine priorate documented from 1030. Early in the 12th century it was given to the church of San Rufino. It is in this church that the conversion of St. Francis took place:

While walking past the Chiesa di San Rufino, he felt inspired to enter it. He then began to pray intensely before the Crucifix, which spoke to him with touching benevolence. « Can you not see, Francis, that my House is falling down? Go, then, and restore it ». Trembling and aston­ished, the young man replied, « I shall do so gladly, my Lord». However, he had misunder­stood, thinking that he was to fix that very church which because of its antiquity had fallen in­to ruin. The words of Christ immensely delighted and overjoyed him; he felt that indeed the Crucifix had given him this message : Joyful over the vision and the words from the Crucifix, Francis stood up and made the sign of the cross. He then well on horseback to the city of Foligno, carring with him a package of fabric of different colors. There he sold his horse and goods and returned to San Damiano. He found the priest, who was very poor, and, after devoutly kissing his hands, handed him the money. Then he began telling him the story of his life. The priest, astonished by such a rapid conversion, refused to believe him. Not wishing to appear foolish, he refused the money. Fran­cis insisted, attempting to render his story credible, and implored the priest to accept him in his quarters.

The priest finally gave in to this second request but, fearing the reaction of the young man's parents, did not accept the money. Then Francis, showing sincere contempt for wealth, tossed all the coins on a window sill as if they were but a handful of dust.

(Legend of The Three Companions, 13; 16)

This gesture did not please Pietro di Bernardone who, after attempting unsuccessfully to bring his son back to his senses, forced him to return his money. The matter was solved before the bishop of the city, when Francis decided to renounce his father's wealth com­pletely.

Returning from the Chiesa di San Damiano, joyous and enthusiastic, he made himself a hermit's habit and comforted the priest of that church with the same words of encouragement that the bishop had used with him. Then he returned to the town and, deeply inspired, began to walk through the streets and squares praising the Lord. As he finished his laudes, he actively sought the stones needed to restore the church saying, « Whoever gives me one stone will have one reward; for two, two rewards; for three just as many! ».

(Legend of the Three Companions, 21) 

It is not possible to assess the extent of the restoration carried out by the Saint. The orig­inal church had only a nave with an oratory crypt and an elevated presbytery. Perhaps only after the arrival of St. Clare and a Damianite community in 1212 did the building undergo a radical change which consisted in the closing of the crypt and the construction of a dor­mitory above the nave. Afflicted by a chronic disease, St. Francis stayed there many times. It was there that he wrote the « Canticle of the Creatures» during the winter of 1224-1225. Following the death of St. Clare and her burial in the Chiesa di San Giorgio, the Poor Clares gave the complex of San Damiano to the Chapter at the Cathedral, ob­taining in exchange the Chiesa di San Giorgio. A community of friars continued to occupy the Convento. In 1773 it was given to the Osservanti (Observants) of Paoluccio Trinci, who kept it until the abolition of ecclesiastical property in 1860 following the unification of Italy. In 1879 it was purchased by Lord G.F.S. Robinson, Marquis of Ripon and Vice­roy of the Indies, who permitted the return of the Observant Minors. The most recent owner, Lord Peter Kerr, Marquis of Lothian, gave it in perpetuity to that religious com­munity in I983.

Texts Kindly offered by: Editrice Minerva Assisi