Today is the 800th Anniversary of the Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi. According to Saint Bonaventure, two years before his death, while in solitude on Mount La Verna, Francis “saw a Seraph with six fiery and shining wings descend from the height of heaven…there a appeared between the wings the figure of a man crucified, with his hands and feet extended in the form of a cross and fastened to a cross… he was overwhelmed and his heart was flooded with a mixture of joy and sorrow. He rejoiced because of the gracious way Christ looked upon him under the form of a Seraph, but the fact that he was fastened to a cross pierced his soul with a sword of compassionate sorrow.” When the vision disappeared, Francis was left with a “marvelous ardor” in his heart. At the same time, there “was imprinted on his body markings that were no less marvelous.” These markings were the stigmata, the wounds of Christ crucified. To learn more, please follow these two links:
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-tradition-and-resources/the-stigmata-of-st-francis/