Our Community Symbol
Our community identifies itself with a symbol that integrates the Tau cross, Spirit and circle into its design. The Tau cross is an ancient Christian symbol. Christians marked with the Tau on their foreheads were known to belong to God. Francis of Assisi used the Tau as his signature. Francis wrote in his Rule of Life that the brothers and sisters “should desire one thing alone, namely, the Spirit of God at work within them.” Francis, acknowledged the formative place of the Spirit in the lives of his followers. For Francis, it is the Spirit of God that creates the circle of energy uniting brothers and sisters in relationships of love. It is this same Spirit that moves them outward in cosmic interdependence and relatedness with all of creation.

SAN DAMIANO CRUCIFIX
This is the icon crucifix which allegedly spoke to Francis one day as he prayed for guidance in the church of San Damiano. Jesus opened his lips and said, “Francis, go rebuild my house, for as you can see, it is falling into ruin.” Francis was overcome, not really understanding what he heard. He started rebuilding San Damiano church with bricks. But as he continued to work he came to realize that the plea from the cross was to rebuild the Body of Christ for the Gospel way of life was in jeopardy. This icon crucifix is very precious to Franciscans. Today it hangs in the Basilica of Saint Clare in Assisi, Italy.

THE TAU
The Tau represented fidelity to the entire Word of God. It could be written as: x, +, or T. The prophet Ezechiel used the T to symbolically seal the foreheads of the people of Israel. He reminded them to be faithful to the end. For Christians the Tau came to represent the cross of Christ and the fulfillment of the Hebrew Testament promises. In the Middle Ages the religious community of St. Anthony the Hermit, was very involved in the care of lepers. These men used the Tau as an amulet to ward off diseases. Francis worked with the lepers and eventually adopted the Tau as his own crest and symbol. For Francis the Tau represented life-long fidelity to the crucified Christ; it was his pledge to serve the least, the leper and the outcast of his day. Pope Innocent III opened the Lateran Council in 1215, at which Francis was present, with the same exhortation that the prophet Ezechiel used, “We are called to reform our lives...”. This Council experience sealed Francis’ decision to adopt the Tau as the symbol for the Order. It was to remind the brothers of the call to reform their lives and be faithful to the Gospel to their dying day.

Today, followers of St. Francis, wear the Tau cross as an exterior sign of their own commitment, overcoming evil through daily self-sacrificing love. The sign of contradiction has become a sign of hope.

The Tau cross, symbolized the spirituality of Saint Francis of Assisi. It dates as far back as the prophet Ezekiel(9:4), when those marked with the Tau on their foreheads were said to belong to God.

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THE PORTIUNCULA
This little chapel was loaned to Francis by the Benedictines of the area so that Francis could form his followers into a community of brothers. Each year Francis brought a basket of fish to the Benedictines as a token payment. That tradition continues to this day, though the chapel now is a place of pilgrimage and is located inside Our Lady of the Angels Basilica on the plains below the city of Assisi.

COSMIC MURAL
The cosmos is a symbol that all is united in God. This was Francis’ intuitive insight. All is of God, we are part of it; therefore, everything is brother and sister.

Located in the Franciscan Life Center: Julia Barkley, artist who created the Cosmos painting, frequently remarked, “No where do I see the power of God, our Creator, more clearly than in the starry skies.”

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