«And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger [...] now Mary kept all these words and events, comparing them in her heart» (Lk 2:16, 19).
Francis was attracted to the figure of Mary, the Mother of God; She who, in profound humility, had been the grace-filled, virginal cradle of the blessed Son.
To her he dedicated praises, prayers and places in the community, placing the Order itself under her maternal protection.
In the Sources we read:
"He finally went to a place called the Portiuncula, in which there was a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin: an ancient building, but then absolutely neglected and abandoned. When the man of God saw it thus abandoned, driven by his fervent devotion to the Queen of the world, he fixed his abode there, with the intention of repairing it. There he often enjoyed the visit of the Angels, as the name of the church itself, called St Mary of the Angels since antiquity, seemed to indicate. Therefore he chose it as his residence, because of his veneration for the Angels and his special love for the Mother of Christ [...].
This place, at the time of his death, he recommended to the brothers as the place dearest to the Virgin' (FF 1048).
And again: 'He often recalled to mind, weeping, the poverty of Jesus Christ and of his Mother, and affirmed that this is the queen of virtues, because one sees it shine so brightly, more than all the others, in the King of kings and in the Queen his Mother' (FF 1118).
To the Mother of God he gave his tribute of honour in the wonderful prayer, best known of all: the "Salutation to the Blessed Virgin Mary".
"Hail, Lady, holy Queen,/
holy Mother of God Mary,/
Thou virgin made Church [...].
Thou in whom was and is every fullness of grace and every good" (FF 259).
In Her he always repeated "May the Lord give you Peace" - wherever he went. Greeting revealed to him by the Most High.
The figure of Clare herself in the Sources is recalled as the "imprint of the Mother of God", and to Francis she recalled Mary's veracious freshness and her extraordinary identification of life and spiritual traits.
This Marian physiognomy, reflected in her disciple, helped the beginnings of the Order, giving her an essential role in the mission that united the two Poor of Assisi.
Mary Most Holy Mother of God, 1 January (Lk 2:16-21)
