The Tomb of Saint Francis: A Place of Pilgrimage and Devotion
The tomb of Saint Francis, visited each year by millions of pilgrims from around the world, is a simple stone sarcophagus enclosed within the pillar beneath the main altar of the lower church of the Basilica. The saint’s body was transferred to the Basilica built in his honor in 1230.
The crypt, where the tomb can be visited today, was carved into the solid rock in 1820. In the corner niches rest the tombs of four of the saint’s closest disciples: Leo, Masseo, Rufino, and Angelo. Between the two access staircases lie the remains of Jacopa de’ Settesoli, the Roman benefactress whom Francis affectionately called “Brother Jacopa.”
In front of the Saint’s Tomb burns a votive lamp, fueled each year by oil donated by a different Italian region for the feast day on October 4. In 2020, the oil was offered by the Marche Region. Inscribed on the lamp is a verse from Dante’s Paradiso (Canto XXVI): “Non è che di suo lume un raggio” (“It is but a single ray of His light”).
