Click here to see more photos from the Mass.
In light of the violence and injustice occurring in the world, the Siena College Franciscan Friars invited members of the Siena Community to St. Mary of the Angels’ Chapel on August 2 to celebrate the Eucharist and pray for peace and reconciliation.
This mass celebrated the 800th anniversary of the Franciscan Feast of the Portiuncula, the time at which St. Francis of Assisi persuaded Pope Honorius III to grant a plenary indulgence to all those who visited the Portiuncula on August 2 to confess their sins. The Feast of the Pardon, as it is called in Italy, attracts thousands of visitors and pilgrims to Assisi. To mark this anniversary, Pope Francis visited the stone chapel rebuilt by St. Francis of Assisi.
Siena’s celebration served as an opportunity for community members to ask for peace and healing in the world and in their own lives. Fr. Larry Anderson, College Chaplain, presided over the mass and provided a blessing for those in attendance.
Siena College President, Br. Ed Coughlin, spoke about The Story of the Wolf of Gubbio, a traditional St. Francis account. Through this excerpt, Br. Ed presented a challenge to those in attendance to think about how to deal with the difficulties in life and decide on the values that will guide them through these difficult times. At the end of Mass, medallions with the image of St. Francis and the wolf were gifted to all.
