Sacra Vestigia

Regula bullata and autograph writings by St. Francis

On March 25, 2017, the Papal hall of the Sacred Convent of St. Francis in Assisi hosted the presentation of an important cultural project implemented by Scrinium in collaboration with the Sacred Convent, the Archdiocese of Spoleto-Norcia and the International Society of Franciscan Studies.

The result of this demanding publishing project is Sacra Vestigia – Brother Francis of Assisi, the first and only edition of the papal bull whereby Honorius III confirmed the Rule of the Friars Minor (Solet annuere, dated November 29, 1223), and of the two surviving documents written by Francis in his own hand (the Assisi Chartula and the Letter to brother Leo). The replicas were made scanning the original documents, which are displayed in the Assisi Basilica’s Chapel of Relics and in the cathedral of Spoleto.

The speakers at the presentation included Fra Mauro Gambetti, Custodian of the Sacred Convent; Renato Boccardo, Archbishop of Spoleto - Norcia; Professor Francesco Santi of the University of Cassino, who gave a lively and very original talk on Francis’s writing style; Professor Attilio Bartoli Langeli, who produced the diplomatic edition of all three documents; and Professor Enrico Menestò, vicepresident of the International Society of Franciscan Studies. The presentation was moderated by Orazio La Rocca, a brilliant journalist and Vatican specialist who writes for the Italian weekly magazine Panorama.