On the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, 1224, Francis was mysteriously marked with the wounds of the Passion as he prayed on Mount La Verna in Tuscany (Italy). His biographer Celano wrote: “Right from the beginning, when true love for Christ had changed this lover into the very image of Christ, Francis began to conceal and hide his treasure with such care that for a considerable time not even those closest to him knew of it.” Benedict XI instituted a special feast for this event.
First Reading: Gal. 6: 14-18; Gospel: Luke 9: 23-26
