The little field chapel of San Damiano sits about a mile outside the ancient walls of Assisi, Italy. An unpaved path near the Porta Nuova gate gently descends the slope of Mount Subasio as it heads down to the lush valley far below, passing olive groves and the ruins of a Roman tomb along the way. Gnarled, centuries-old cypress trees mark the point where the descent becomes a bit steeper. Soon the cloister walls and the church appear. The former Camaldolese Benedictine church was built around 1030 in honor of St. Damian, who was born in Arabia and martyred in 303 along with his twin brother, Cosmos. St. Damian (San Damiano) is honored in both the Eastern and Western Church for his great works of charity. The church, built atop ruins dating back to the century before Christ, has a simple gable facade, built with irregular stones, on which there is an off-center circular window.
 Back in Francis’ time, the simple, poor church was half in ruins following years of neglect. In 1205, in response to God’s grace, Francis was in the midst of transforming his life. He was beginning to feel the presence of God in all he saw and in everyone he met. More and more, Francis was able to see the image of Christ in the poor and afflicted. He was not just seeing things, but seeing through things. After embracing a leper, Francis sought to discover an inner unity within himself and an outward unity with others. He had a deep desire to dedicate himself to a life of solitude and prayer, and an equally strong desire to serve the poor and spread the Good News of Christ. His large heart was divided: he felt a call to prayer and a call to service. And so, one day he entered the decaying little Church of San Damiano to seek God’s will.
 Light flooded in through the partially collapsed roof as Francis humbly knelt in prayer in front of a large, painted Byzantine cross which hung above the altar. During what may have been a long, intense period of prayer, a voice broke through the silence of the abandoned church. It was Christ speaking. And He said, "Francis, go repair my house which, as you see, is falling completely to ruin." Francis took the words he heard as a direct order to restore the church. Brick by brick, he rebuilt it, begging for all the supplies he needed. By 1206, the restoration of the church was completed. After restoring that and other small churches, Francis began the progressively more difficult tasks of restoring the universal Church and restoring himself. The cross is crucial in Francis’ conversion and spirituality. His journey would eventually lead him to experience the wounds of the Cross of Christ being imprinted on his very body.
God had broken through the silence of San Damiano and Francis would respond with every fiber of his being. During that moment of transformation before the San Damiano cross, his own private, self-made world came to an end. A new world appeared within him and around him - a world where the impossible became an everyday experience. Despite his own weakness, Francis began to rebuild himself. He tore down his own inner fortress and rebuilt it in the image of Christ. His heart, which had been hardened by vanity and lust for money, fame and glory, was slowly being transformed. Kneeling before the crucifix in the rubble of San Damiano, Francis did not have one stone fixed upon another in his own life. Yet, the more he surrendered to God, the more God visited him with consolations and help.
 Touched by God, filled by God, Francis now burned with a desire to help others open themselves to receiving God’s grace. Even today, he invites us to rebuild our lives according to the design given by Christ, whispering in our ears, ever so gently, "God is simply waiting for your response." Francis’ mission was clear: help people find reconciliation with themselves, others and God...stone by stone, rebuilding individual lives, communities and the world.
The San Damiano Foundation has one primary goal: to continue that mission through the medium of film and books.
A few more historical facts about the Church of San Damiano in Assisi. In 1212, Francis brought Clare and her sisters to San Damiano, giving birth to a new monastery and form of life. St. Clare lived at San Damiano for 41 years. She died there in 1253. In 1225, near the end of his life, Francis was brought to San Damiano to be nursed back to health. In Clare’s garden, Francis wrote his famous poem of praise, The Canticle of the Creatures. The Poor Clares left San Damiano in 1260, when they moved to the convent of Santa Chiara located within the walls of the city. Our name, The San Damiano Foundation, has great significance within the Franciscan family. Today, the Church of San Damiano, under the care of the friars, is a still a place of transformation, a place of prayer, a place of healing.
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