SAN DAMIANO

'San Damiano' is a church with a monastery near Assisi, Italy. It was the first monastery of the Order of Saint Clare, where Saint Clare built her community. Perhaps one of the most significant aspects regarding the church as well was Saint Francis' encounter with Christ. He had been praying at San Damiano which at the time was a very run down and rugged building. Suddenly the Lord spoke to Francis out of the painted cross and told him, "Francis, don't you see my house is crumbling apart? Go, then, and restore it!" Afterwards Saint Francis took action to repair San Damiano, although he eventually learned that God's message to him was to restore the Church as a whole rather than literally repair churches such as San Damiano.