At the time of St. Francis

Francis of Pietro of Bernardone dreamed of glory. Any circumstance was an occasion for him to be in the spotlight, to be the centre of attention.

            “One day he met a poor practically naked knight. Moved to compassion, he generously gave him, for love of Christ, the much refined clothing which he was wearing. That night he had a vision: a splendid palace appeared to him, in which he could see every type of armoury, and in the dream he heard himself called by name and was very flattered by the promise of all these goods.”

            And so, interpreting the dream in a human way, to make it come true, he joined the crusader’s army of Gualtieri di Brienne, who defended the rights of the Pope. He left for the Puglia, but fell ill when he arrived in Spoleto. That night once again he heard a voice that asked him insistently: “Francis, Francis, who do you think can be more useful to you: the servant or the master?”… “The master”, Francis replied. “Well then”, replied the voice, “so why are you looking for the servant in place of the master?.. Go back to Assisi, and there you will be told what you must do.”

            That night Francis could not sleep.

            At the break of dawn, he immediately got on his horse and made his way back to Assisi… Along the way couldn’t help but thinking of those words which burned in his heart. The Lord had predestined him to a more great and lasting glory.

The inhabitants of Assisi, seeing come back so quickly, said among themselves: “he’s done it again!” and they scorned him. After having overcome a grave illness Francis got back to his daily life as before, joining in with the joyous brigades of his light-headed companions who, seeing his generosity, laughed at him behind his back, and even acclaimed him “king of the feasts.”   Cfr. II Celano 5-7

And even so Francis was no longer what he used to be. He had said to the Lord: “What do you want me to do?”… While waiting for an answer he spent many periods of profound unrest… He looked for solitary places where he could go off to dedicate himself totally to the things of God… Among the places most dear to Francis, besides the church of San Damiano, there were the caves of Subasio, and one in particular, close to a ravine in between two rocks… Here Francis came to give himself up completely to an inflamed dialogue full of love with His Lord.

  Note: The word “Carceri” (prisons) (from the Latin “carceres”) means a solitary place, isolated, or also, according to the local use: a person who went off to establish himself in isolated places was said that he “imprisoned himself”.

The Carceri at the time of Francis (13th century)

The hermitage of the Carceri rose up around the cave of St. Francis . He began to visit this mountain and to take refuge in a cave in the years 1205-1206.

            He would be accompanied there by a close friend, telling him that he’d found a treasure. His friend would wait outside while Francis entered the cave where he implored the Lord with all the fervour with which he was able to allow him to know His will. He prayed, he mourned for his sins, he scourged himself, he repeated untiringly enflamed words of love.

            When he came out of the cave, he was so transfigured that he seemed much different from when he’d entered. Upon the arrival of his first companions: Bernard of Quintavalle (noble and rich), Peter Catani (canonist and jurist), Giles (a simple farmer) and others, they would all go up together attracted by solitude and they would find scattered in the woods other caves where they could take refuge and dedicate themselves to personal prayer.

For their communal prayer, they would use a small chapel dedicated to S. Mary of the Carceri.

Tradition has it that this solitary place, like the Porziuncola, was donated to St. Francis by the Benedictines of Mount Subasio in the year 1215.
We would like to note an important episode in Franciscan history that reminds us of the Hermitage. In 1216, while Francis was at the Porziuncola, (St. Mary of the Angels), seeing how the number of friars grew day by day and not knowing if he should choose “contemplative life” or “active life”, he asked the guidance of Clare (living at San Damiano) and of brother Sylvester (living at that time at the Hermitage).
He sent brother Masseo to them with this precise task: that they ask God which of the two ways he should follow. After a certain period of time, brother Masseo came back to Francis with the answer from Clare and from Sylvester, divinely identical:

“The Lord said that you are not only to worry about yourself but also for the brothers…” The Will of the Lord, therefore, was that the friars dedicate themselves to preaching, that they go throughout the world preaching the Gospel. Francis received this decision of the Lord with joy; however he advised the brothers sent into the world to preach the Gospel that they prepare themselves with prayer and contemplation, to merit from the Lord the grace of testifying with their lives the truth of what they announced. In this way they alternated preaching and moments of solitude in the hermitages.