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"Il Signore ti dia pace!" - "May the Lord give you peace!" This greeting from St Francis goes out to the many pilgrims and tourists from all over the world who visit the little Umbrian town of Assisi every year. An integral part of their encounter with the life and message of the saint is a visit to the Basilica of San Francesco, the site of his tomb. A major attraction are the significant frescoes dating from the Late Middle Ages, including those by Giotto di Bondone, in the Upper and Lower Church. Beyond the abundant travel literature, there is much interest in guidance from a Franciscan perspective about the deeper message conveyed by this church. That is the aim of this Fink Art Guide "San Francesco in Assisi: The Message of St Francis in Pictures". The book by Br. Thomas Freidel OFM Conv., a pilgrims' chaplain in Assisi, abundantly illustrated by the photographs of Stefan Diller, Gerhard Ruf and Ghigo Roli, draws on the author's daily practice as a tour guide for visitors to the basilica. The frescoes for San Francesco were painted during a period of profound and rapid change. Within the space of a few decades the Friars Minor evolved from a barely structured itinerant community into an Order anchored within the urban fabric, able to secure their future role within the Church by preaching, offering pastoral care and engaging in scholarship. Today the challenge is to transpose their original spirit into new and different times, as the Franciscan family in German-speaking countries has been doing for 800 years.
About the author
Br. Thomas Freidel OFM Conv., b. 1967 in the German Palatinate, joined the Order of Franciscan Friars Minor in 1991. Consecration as deacon in 1996. From 2008 he was a chaplain for pilgrims at the Sacro Convento in Assisi. In 2021 he was appointed as director to the Museum of the Basilica of San Francesco.
