Saint Francis' Circles of Peace

Homily of H.E. Archbishop Charles John Brown, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

In the Special Jubilee Year of the 800th Anniversary of his Transitus

Santuario de San Antonio Parish, Makati City |October 4, 2026

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ​, for me as the Apostolic Nuncio​, it is always a joy and a privilege to be here at the Santuario de San Antonio Parish here in Forbes Park and especially today​, on the Solemnity of our Seraphic Father, ​Saint Francis of Assisi​; the 800th anniversary of his Transitus​, his transition, his passing from this life into—something that we will confess in the final words of the Creed this morning—we pass from this world into​ "the life of the world to come".

What happens next? Francis died on the evening of Saturday, the 3rd of October 1226—800 years ago. And not only do we celebrate the 800th anniversary of his Transitus, we also commemorate this morning the 50th anniversary of the canonical erection of your wonderful parish, Santuario de San Antonio.

I greet in a very special way the Rev. Fr. Mark Adame Bakari, the parish priest of San Antonio, and all the parish priest, Fr. Percy, Msgr. Giuseppe Trentadue from the Apostolic Nunciature who is here concelebrating with me this morning.

Transitus

When we think about the Transitus of St. Francis, we can think about the words with which that Transitus was described in the first life written about St. Francis shortly after his death, 800 years ago, and that was written by the Franciscan Thomas of Celano.

And he wrote these words:

In the 1,226th year of the incarnation of the Lord, on the fourth day of October, a Sunday, our most blessed Father Francis departed from the prison of the flesh. And soared into the dwellings of the heavenly spirits.

This happened, Thomas of Celano writes, in the city of Assisi, where he had been born. It happened at St. Mary of the Porziuncola where he had first established the Order of the Lesser Brothers, the Friars Minor, twenty years after Francis had embraced Christ completely (or) as Thomas says, had adhered to Christ completely, following the life and footsteps, the example of the Apostles. And at that moment, in his Transitus, Thomas of Celano says, Francis brought to (perfect) completion what he had begun. (Regis J. Armstrong, J. A. Wayne Hellmann, William J. Short, Francis of Assisi - The Saint: Early Documents, vol. 1 New City Press, 1999, 258-259).

He completed his journey to heaven.

So we celebrate the Feast Day of St .Francis. We thank God for the gift of the Franciscan Order, the Friars Minor, and the entire Franciscan family. And indeed, our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, whose representative as all of you know I am here in the Philippines, our Pope wrote a letter back in January of this year to establish this year as 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis. And in that letter, which was written in January, the Holy Father Pope Leo emphasizes and underscores the theme of PEACE.

The theme of PEACE.

And if you will permit me I'd like to very briefly reflect on that idea of peace. We can think about this idea of peace in terms of three concentric circles. That means circles that get smaller: a big circle, a middle circle, a small circle.

Peace in Creation

The largest circle of peace that Francis shows us in his life is the peace that comes in Creation.

The Holy Father Pope Leo XIV writes, "Peace embraces the whole of creation. Francis—who calls the Sun 'Brother' and the Moon 'Sister', who recognizes in every creature a reflection of Divine Beauty—reminds us that peace must be extended to the entire family of creation.

Indeed, we pray in the Psalms, in Psalm 19, "The heavens proclaim the glory of God and the firmament shows forth the work of His hands"​ or the skies display His craftsmanship.

So all of creation is filled with the peace of God. And Francis recognized that.

And one year before he died in 1225—a year before 1226—he wrote that famous Canticle of the Sun, Canticle of the Creatures. There were his famous words, "Laudato Si", which Pope Francis used for his encyclical on creation.

But the idea that all of creation illustrates, exemplifies the glory of God, the peace of God ... it's interesting to think that love, which is what God is—Deus Caritas Est—God is love ... love by definition is expansive, is diffusive. And if you study a little about cosmology, this is even secular cosmology, that means a study of the heavens, of the origin of the cosmos and its continued history, you see that after the Big Bang, the creation, the universe is expanding. Even now, it's growing, it's expanding. And that reflects the love of God, which is diffusive. Which is expansive.

When we love another person, our love goes out from us and enters into them. And then flows from them onto others.

This idea that love is expansive, creation is expansive, and peace is expansive. So we see this theme of peace in creation and expansive love. 

The Wolf of Gubbio

And even in the creation of animals. (And after mass we will bless all the animals in the pond; I look forward to that.) You know the famous story of St. Francis with the Wolf of Gubbio. This wolf in Gubbio that was terrorizing the citizens of Gubbio. Francis then meets the wolf and dialogues with the wolf.

What did Francis say to the wolf? He says to this wolf that was causing problems—it's interesting that the presence of that wolf shows us that while creation emanates and illustrates the love of God, there's also imperfection in creation. There is imperfection. Creation is beautiful, it shows us God. But it has imperfection in it. We experience that in natural disasters. Things like earthquakes. Which are not really caused by human beings but shows that there is a certain imperfection in creation that needs to be healed. We see that also in animal life. Animals can be very friendly. Your pets can be very friendly. But they oftentimes quarrel among themselves. Animals eat one another. So we have that kind of idea of imperfection also.

When Francis met the Wolf of Gubbio, he said to the wolf, "All men cry out against you. Dogs are chasing you. The inhabitants of the City of Gubbio are your enemies." But then, Francis says, "I will make peace between them and you, oh Brother Wolf. If you no longer offend them, they will forgive you all your past offenses, and neither men nor dogs shall chase you anymore. Then the wolf put his paw in the hands of St. Francis, showing this reconciliation.

And that shows us that we need to be reconciled with Creation. We need to treat creation with the respect that it is due, as the creation of God, as the emanation of the love of God.

We need to respect creation, as Pope Francis has taught us so eloquently in his encyclical Laudato Si. 

Peace in the Human Family

And then the second circle. Penetrating or becoming smaller. Peace in the human family. Pope Francis reminded us that St. Francis of Assisi met the Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil in Egypt during the 5th crusade in 1219. That would have been seven years before his death. He went to Egypt and he preached to the leader of the Muslim forces that conquered the Middle East, and he did that to foster peace.

When Francis met the Sultan it is said that he greeted the Sultan with the words, "May the Lord give you peace."

So that's the second circle of peace that we need to always strive for. Peace in the human family. Overcoming war, division, and conflict by promoting justice and especially by promoting forgiveness and reconciliation.

If we continue the law of retaliation—an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—peace will not arrive. If we follow the example of Francis, who was following the example of Jesus, we learn to forgive. We can achieve a greater awareness and a greater reality of peace in our world.

Peace comes from forgiveness. 

Because just like in creation there's a certain imperfection. There's also an imperfection in all of us. Which we name and call as Catholics the effects of original sin. All of us have a built in selfishness that we need to overcome. But the way in which we overcome that when we deal with others is by the gift of forgiveness. And this is what Francis shows us: the gift of forgiveness and peace.

So creation; the human family; overcoming war, division, and hostility. 

The Interior Peace of the Heart

And then, thirdly, the last circle: in the silence of your heart. The interior peace of the heart. And this is so important. Because there's peace—we want peace in creation, we want peace in the human family— but the third, smallest circle is your heart, here, living, at this point.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart. You will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy. My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28 - 30)

He is basically telling us, "Come to me and I will give you peace of heart. Come to me. Take my yoke upon you." That means—

Learn from me. Learn to forgive; learn to love—the way I have forgiven and loved. And you will find that your burdens become lighter. You will find joy in your heart. You receive peace. 

You know, about forty years after the Transitus of St. Francis, 135 kilometers north of Assisi, another great Italian was born: Dante. The great Italian poet Dante, born 40 years after St. Francis left this world. In Dante's Paradiso he has those very famous words about peace—interior peace—and how to achieve it. It's very simple. In Italian, in his dialect, he wrote, "E 'n la sua volontade è nostra pace." If you translate in English: "In His will is our peace." (Paradiso, Canto III, line 85)​.

In His will is our peace. 

In the will of God, we find peace. So when we conform ourselves to the will of God, we seek to do the will of God. In spite of difficulties that can arise, we will find interior peace. Peace in our hearts. Peace in that smallest concentric circle. 

For Saint Francis, “that interior peace came through surrendering himself to God: embracing penance and poverty, serving the poor and marginalized, forgiving [...], and seeking God in prayer. Through this way of life, Francis received an interior peace that the world could not give” him. (Bret Thoman, OFS, “4 P’s and a C: Understanding the legacy of St. Francis,” https://aleteia.org/2026/10/03/4-ps-and-a-c-understanding-the-legacy-of-st-francis/). 

And that is the story of ​the life of Saint Francis.​ He was a young man with so many gifts. He was born into a rich family. His father was a very successful businessman. But he didn't have peace in his interior heart.

He was looking for that peace. He finally found that peace in the person of Jesus.

So no matter what our vocation is—whether we're Franciscan friars; whether we're priests; whether we're students, parents or grandparents—in the will of God is our peace.

In Jesus is our peace. He has come to give us that peace. Peace in our hearts. Peace in the human family. Peace in creation. 

So in the name of Pope Leo XIV, I salute and congratulate the Franciscans on this 800th anniversary of the passing of Francis from this life into the life of the world to come. We pray and ask St. Francis to intercede for all of us, especially all of you here in San Antonio Parish. And finally as always, we ask Our Lady, the all holy, all beautiful, all wonderful Mother of God, to intercede for us as we celebrate this 800th anniversary of the Transitus. 

May God bless you! Happy Transitus! 

And after mass, for those of you who have pets and animals, we will be blessing them outside the church, in the garden. God bless you.        

Transcribed by Margaux Salcedo

Photos: Santuario de San Antonio Parish livestream