The day Assisi shook

The tremors that rumbled across the Umbrian Valley about 2:30 a.m. on the morning of September 26 were just the beginning of a day that will be long remembered by Franciscans and all who love Saint Francis.

With the epicenter of the early morning earthquake at the nearby small community of Collecurti the first news reports indicated that three people were killed and much damage was done throughout the area. That included some damage to the upper church of the Basilica of Saint Francis.

The church had been closed to the public while members of the Ministry of Culture were called in to assess the damage. Several friars, members of the survey team, town officials, journalists and cultural experts were in the church when the second earthquake struck about 11:30 that morning . In all there were about twenty people present when parts of the vaulted ceiling came crashing down on those within the church. When the tremors began some were able to take refuge against the walls of the church. Others were not so lucky.

The facts and fiction of the disaster circulated through the crowd as people prayed and watched the work proceed. Some people had heard that the entire roof of the basilica had collapsed while others had combined the loss of life from other accounts to bring the number of those killed in the church much higher.

So began the days of shock, fear and disbelief. Portions of the Sacro Convento were damaged as well. The friars were not sure as to the extent of the damage. Fearing more falling stone and plaster the rooms were vacated and the stunned friars gathered in small groups near the portico while word of the damage filtered down. Cracks and fissures were visible throughout the structure and the extent of the damage could not be readily evaluated. Large portions of the ceiling in the refectory had fallen. Sections of the stone work above a couple of the windows of the basilica were dislodged as well as from a corner above the papal salon.

The people of the town found that it was easiest to talk about the loss of things. The most obvious and the greatest destruction was to the upper basilica of the San Francisco. Two sections of the ceiling of the basilica had collapsed in the second earthquake. One of them was the section nearest he main entrance. Painted by Cimabue it depicted the Doctors of the Church. The other section was over the main altar also by Cimabue and were frescoes of the four evangelists. It was this section that destroyed the main altar but also killed Father Angelo and Zdzislaw.

From Toy town to ghost town

Throughout the town people stood outside their doors and waited for the next tremor. Surprisingly, not as much had fallen off the shelves and counters as had been expected with a quake of this magnitude. It is true that many bottles and plates, souvenirs and knickknacks broke when they fell from their places. The jolts did do a lot of structural damage that can only be evaluated as time goes by. The toy town of Assisi became a ghost town in many ways over the next several days with shops and roads into the city closed.

The shock of the death of Father Angelo and Zdzislaw Borowiec as well as the two technicians left a great impression on the people of the city. Father Angelo was much loved by his fellow friars. He was able to communicate the Franciscan ideals to those under his charge as postulants. In the early formative years Father Angelo was able to form the life of these young men in a way that others would not be able to do. His will be a great loss to the community at the Sacro Convento and also to his province of the Marches.

Zdzislaw was new to the community here at Assisi. As a postulant who had arrived in Assisi only ten days before, it seemed like this was a place where he belonged. In his last letter home he wrote to his family : Don’t be nostalgic, because if you believe and I believe, it is as if we are in the same place. This was a young man, the future of the Order, sadly killed before his ministry as a friar even began.

With the continued tremors one of the friars was asked if he was afraid to stay. He pointed to the example that was given by Father Angelo and Zdzislaw. It was their time to be called home by God. It was their time to give the example. Referring to a supposed quote of Saint Joan of Arc he said, If I am in the state of grace, I pray to God to keep me there. If I am not in the state of grace, I pray to God to put me there.’ I am ready.

For us, the quake in Assisi has done damage to our Mater and the whole Christian world mourns the suffering of Assisi. The tremors that rumbled across the Umbrian Valley about were truly felt around the world.

And the tremors continue...