Live the Questions A Journey with Francis and Clare

Posted by: Paul Gerard Kimmerling

“Live the Questions: A Journey with Francis and Clare” is a unique opportunity to contemplate your spiritual path in light of those of Saints Francis and Clare. And, to immerse yourself in Assisi, Italy, the city that birthed and witnessed these exemplary lives.

We start Sunday evening, and close Friday evening of the same week. Each morning, we begin with a reflection on the significant life events of Francis or Clare, which act as touchstones for contemplating our own journeys. These talks are followed by visits to Assisi’s sacred sites.

Afternoons are unscheduled, affording ample time for personal reflection, and further exploration of this remarkable medieval city.


Assisi, the “City of Peace”, is a compelling destination for spiritual pilgrims. Ancient, narrow streets open into sun-warmed, sky-filled piazzas. The city’s physical configuration metaphorically reflects aspects of the spiritual journey.

Assisi has an abundance of natural and man-made beauty. If the eye is the window to the soul, then Assisi lays out a visual feast to nourish the interior life.

Assisi seems to abide in a time out of time. Many have experienced Assisi as a “thin place”, where the veil between worlds seems to drop away…where the sense of the mystical, as integrated by Francis and Clare, may be within our ken as well.



Assisi’s stunning early and medieval churches hold centuries of religious art treasures. These reach their zenith in the frescoes of Giotto and Cimabue, which memorialize the extraordinary life of St. Francis at the Basilica that bears his name. We will have ample time to contemplate these monumental works.

Their grand scale cannot diminish the stark beauty and significance of a very singular piece in the Basilica of St. Clare – the icon crucifix of San Damiano. It was while at prayer in front of this crucifix that Francis heard his mission to repair the church. We will visit:

- The Basilica of St Francis
- The Basilica of St Clare
- The Porziuncola at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, where Francis and his brothers lived, and where Francis died.
- The Cathedral of San Rufino, where Francis and Clare were baptized
- San Damiano, which Francis rebuilt, and where Clare and her sisters lived