 St Francis of Assisi
THE
SAN DAMIANO CROSS
Most High glorious
God enlighten the darkness
of my heart.
Give me Lord,
a correct faith,
a certain hope,
a perfect charity,
sense and knowledge,
so that I may carry out
your holy and true
command.
St Francis of Assisi Prayer
Before the Crucifix
THE
HISTORY OF THE SAN DAMIANO CROSS
An unknown Umbrian artist painted
the Crucifix Icon in the 12th Century. There is strong Syrian influence,
and history tells us that there had been some Syrian monks in the area.
It is painted on wood (walnut) to
which cloth had been glued. It is about 190 cm high, 120 cms wide and
12 cms thick. It is more than likely it was painted for San Damiano
to hang over the Altar as the Blessed Sacrament was not reserved in
non Parish Churches of those times and especially those that had been
abandoned and neglected as we know San Damiano had been.
In 1257 the Poor Clares left San Damiano
for San Giorgio and took the Crucifix with them. They carefully kept
the Cross for 700 years.
In Holy Week of 1957, it was placed
on public view for the first time over the new Altar in San Giorgio's
Chapel in the Basilica of St Clare of Assisi.
The
Icon of the Transfigured Christ
For Eastern Christians the ICON is
a representation of the living God, and by coming into its presence
it becomes a personal encounter with the sacred, through the grace
of the Holy Spirit. The San Damiano Icon is then a personal encounter
with the transfigured Christ - God made man. The Crucifix contains
the story of the death, resurrection and ascension into glory. It expresses
the total and universal Paschal Mystery of Christ. It invites us all
to take part in it with a lively and lived faith, just as St Francis
did.
Christ's saving death is shown in
John's Gospel in its serene majesty, and this Crucifix portrays this
in picture form. It is not surprising that Saint Francis was attracted
to this Icon and that the inspiration for his life came from this Christ
who spoke to him "Go repair my Church ... ".
THE FIGURE
OF THE CHRIST
The central figure of the icon is
Christ not only because of the relative size but Christ is a figure
of light dominating the scene and giving light to the other figures "I
am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life. " (John 8:12). Christ stands
upright, not nailed. The eyes of Jesus are open: He looks out to the
world, which He has saved. He is alive, the one who is eternal. Jesus'
vestment is a simple loin cloth - a symbol of both High Priest and
Victim. The chest, throat and neck are very strong, Jesus gives power
of re-creation to His Disciples (John 22:23). He breathed on His Disciples
(John 20:22), the Greek word used recalls the moment of Creation (Gen
2:7). The shadow over the face of Jesus is increased by the fact the
halo and face are tilted forward on the original Icon. The humanity
of Christ veils the true glory of the Word who lives in the super illuminous
darkness of the Godhead.
Behind the outstretched arms of Christ
is His empty tomb, shown as a black rectangle.
THE MEDALLION
AND INSCRIPTION
 The Ascension is portrayed
within this circle of red: Christ is breaking out of the circle, holding
a golden cross which is now His Royal Sceptre. His garments are gold
- a symbol of royalty and victory. His red scarf is a sign of His Dominion
and Kingship; exercised in love. Angels welcome Him into Heaven. IHS
are the first three letters of the name of Jesus. The little bracket
above indicates it is shorthand. NAZARE is the Nazarene; REX is' king'
and IUDEORUM is 'of the Jews', which is reported in St John's Gospel " Jesus
the Nazarene, King of the Jews"
THE HAND
OF THE FATHER
 From within the semi-circle
at the very top of the Icon, He whom no eye has seen reveals Himself
in a benediction. This blessing is given by the right hand of God with
the finger extended - the Holy Spirit. The Father gives the gift of
the Holy Spirit to all because of the merits of the Christ's Passion.
THE MYSTICAL
VINE
 Around the Cross are various
calligraphic scrolls which may signify the mystical vine "I
am the vine, you are the branches... " (John 15), which also
contain the words "Greater love has no one than this, that
one lays down one 's life for one friends ".
At the base of the cross there seems
to be a section that looks like a rock - the symbol of the Church.
The seashells are symbols of eternity
- a mystery hidden in the vast and timeless sea of eternity is revealed.
MARY
AND JOHN
 As in John's Gospel, Mary
and John are placed side by side. Mary's mantle is white meaning victory
(Rev 3:5), purification (Rev 7:14); and good deeds (Rev 19:8). The
gems on the mantle refer to the graces of the Holy Spirit.
The dark red worn under the mantic
indicate intense love, while the inner dress is purple - the Ark of
the Covenant (Ex 26: 1-4).
Mary's left hand is raised to her
cheek - her acceptance and love of John, and her right hand points
to John while her eyes proclaim acceptance of Christ's words "Woman,
behold your son... " (John 19:26). The blood drips on to John
at this moment.
John's mantle is rose colour indicating
eternal wisdom, while his tunic is white - purity. His position is
between Jesus and Mary as is fitting for the disciple loved by both
of them. He looks at Mary "Son, behold your Mother", but
points to Christ.
NUMBERS
There are 33 figures in the Icon -
Two Christ figures, 1 Hand of the Father, 5 major figures, 2 smaller
figures, 14 angels, 2 unknown at His hands, 1 small boy, 6 unknown
at the bottom of the Cross and one rooster. There are 33 nail heads
along the frame just inside the shells and seven around the halo.
THE OTHER
MAJOR FIGURES
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene is next to Christ
making her very special; her hand is on her chin indicating a confided secret "He
is risen ". She wears scarlet, which is a symbol of love;
her mantle of blue deepens this.
Mary
Clopas
Some authorities make her the
mother of James. She wears garments of an earthen colour a symbol of
humility, and her light green mantle - hope. Her admiration of Jesus
is indicated by the gesture of her hand.
The
Centurion of Capernaum
He holds a piece of wood in
his left hand, indicating his building of the Synagogue (Luke 7: 1
- 10). The little boy beyond his shoulder is his son healed by Jesus.
The three heads behind the boy show "he and his whole household
believed" (John 4: 45 - 54). He has extended his thumb and
two fingers, a symbol of the Trinity, while his two closed fingers
symbolise the hidden mystery of the two natures of Jesus the Christ. "Truly
He is the Son of God" (Mark 15:39).
THE LESSER FIGURES
Longinus
The Roman soldier who pierced Jesus'
side with a lance.
Stephen
Tradition gives this name to the soldier
who offered Jesus a sponge soaked in vinegar wine after Jesus cried
out "I thirst" (John 19: 28 -30).
THE UNKNOWN
SAINTS
At the bottom of the Icon are
six unknown saints whom Scholars postulate are Sts Damian, Rufinus,
Michael John the Baptist, Peter and Paul, all patrons of Churches in
the Assisi area. St Damian was the Patron of the Church that housed
the Cross and St Rufinus was the Patron Saint of Assisi. There is too
much damage of that area to make a proper identification.
 THE ASTONISHED ANGELS
There ate two groups of angels - animatedly
discussing the scene unfolded before them.
"For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him
shall not die but have life everlasting" (John
3:16).
THE TOMB
As mentioned before behind Christ is the open tomb;
Christ is alive and standing over the tomb. The red of love overcomes
the black of death.
The gestures of the unknown saints
at His hands indicate faith. Could these be Peter and John at the empty
tomb? (John 20: 3 - 9).
THE ROOSTER
Firstly, the inclusion of the rooster recalls the
denial of Peter who wept bitterly.
Secondly, the rooster proclaims the
new dawn of the Risen Christ 1 the true light (1 John 2:8). "But
for you who revere my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with
healing in its wings" (Malachi 4:2 or 3:20 depending on your
translation).
THE SHAPE
OF THE CROSS
The shape of the Cross has changed to enable the
artist to include all who participated in the drama of the Passion.
Note that the arms of the cross lift to Christ's right indicating that
the Good Thief (traditionally called Dismas) went to Heaven; while
the left hand dips - the other thief did not.
- Text
prepared by Brother Jim Cronly ofm Cap 1995
- Special thanks to Jack Smith for
the images of the San Damiano Cross
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