The Beginnings of Saint Francis Monastery

 

The beginnings of St Francis Monastery in Zadar are associated with the very beginnings of the Franciscan order and the historically roven fact of St Francis of Assisi on the Croatian coast. Namely, it is known that St Francis was on our coast in 1212, when he was trying to travel to the Holy Land, and was pursued by “opposite winds to the banks of Sclavonia”, although we do not know to which city. What we do know is that after a latter successful stay in Jesus’ homeland, returning to Italy in 1220, he travelled along our coast and, knowing the possibilities of sailing at that time, he had to stop at several of our ports. Tradition says that he also stopped in Zadar and healed a nun from the neighbouring St Nicholas Monastery, one of Benedictine Sisters. In return, they would commit taking the rule of St Clare, the follower of St Francis, what actually happened in 1244. In addition, they handed over a part of their garden to the Franciscans, which is confirmed by a document from 1249. These nuns have already been called the nuns of St Damian, that is, after the monastery in Assisi, where St Clare was still alive (+1253). Moreover, the well-known Franciscan historian and general of the Order, Francis Gonzaga wrote in 1587: “Zadar, as some of the inscriptions and graves are very clearly indicating, was visited by the blessed Father Francis, when he travelled to Jerusalem and other holy places and founded the present Monastery, which was subsequently devoted to him, built with the funds of Zadar citizens according to the demands of original poverty”. We can easily say that the St Francis Monastery is not only the oldest Franciscan monastery in Croatia but also the first outside Italy. The papal bulla of Gregory IX arrived Ad conventum Jadrensem (to the Zadar Monastery) in 1228, addressed to “the bishops of Histria, Dalmatia and Sclavonia”, informing them that Francis of Assisi was canonized and that his feast day is on 4th November. From this, the authors conclude that the Monastery was founded around 1220, after Francis’ passage through Dalmatia. The Monastery was throughout history, except for shorter periods, also the seat of the Franciscan Province “Sclavonia” (as the Croatian coast was called in the Middle Ages), which was in 1393, due to changed political circumstances and by the decision of the Order, called the Province of Dalmatia under the protection of St Jerome. In the 13th and 14th centuries, this Province was led by prominent Friars of the Order, among them the most prominent was Friar Jerome Masci da Ascoli (1272-1274), theologian, diplomat and General of the Order, who became Pope Nicholas IV (1288-1292). It is believed that he contributed to the construction of todays St Francis Church in Zadar, while he was the Cardinal in Rome. According to tradition, he donated silver embossing of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and established thetitle "basilica” to St Francis Church. This Marian figure was restored in 1627 and is now on the altar of the “Detrico” Chapel, in the basilica on the left.