The cult complex features two superimposed churches (the lower one houses the body of the Saint) plus the Friars’ Convent.
The hilly terrain on which the building stands facilitated its multi-level design. The lower basilica, functioning as a crypt, is in Lombard Romanesque style and has a Tau-shaped plan, or Egyptian cross. The original design envisioned a single nave divided into four bays, with cross-vaulted ceilings and square-section ribs; the third bay was partitioned by an iconostasis, with a pulpit from which Mass was celebrated. The presbytery features a barrel-vaulted transept and a domed apse. During construction, an entrance atrium was added. Later, starting from the pontificate of Nicholas IV (1288-1292), chapels were opened in the nave walls, due to increasing demand for votive burials near the Saint’s body.
In 1818, after the rediscovery of the sarcophagus containing the Saint’s remains, the underground cell beneath the crypt was expanded by excavating the surrounding hard rock, thus doubling the crypt space. The bell tower, Romanesque with a Gothic touch, lightly decorated with colored majolica, was designed according to Italian tradition, detached from the church body.
The upper basilica has a simple gabled facade, built in white stone without any chromatic notes except for the lost mosaic incrustations of the rose window. The interior features a single nave divided into four bays with a transept and polygonal apse. The bays are covered by cross-vaulted ceilings with ogival-profile ribs that transfer the weight onto slender bundled pillars. At a certain height, the walls recede, forming a balcony that runs around the church, passing under the pillars. Behind the altar at the end of the apse is the marble papal cathedra, a sign of the legal and liturgical dignity with which the popes honored the Franciscan basilica.
The rooms of the Sacred Convent are arranged around four cloisters, and the convent perimeter has housed the Domus Gregoriana or papal palace since its inception, built by founder Gregory IX on the north side of the convent. In 1476, Sixtus IV moved the papal residence to the southwest side of the building. Behind the apse, on the north side of the main cloister, are the rooms housing the Treasury Museum. On the northwest side are the rooms of the Library, whose existence is documented from 1265 in a manuscript by Cardinal Caietani, later Boniface VIII.
(For further details on the sanctuary’s typology, see texts listed in the bibliography). Description: On May 25, 1230, the Saint’s remains were transferred to a specially prepared cell beneath the main altar. Currently, the object of worship is the tomb of St. Francis, but in the past, numerous relics were also venerated. Entered into use: in the year 1230 Type: Object of worship not classifiable as an image or relic
Collection of ex-votos: Data not available Notes on the collection: Ex-votos were removed from all churches in Assisi in the early decades of the twentieth century.
The miracles of St. Francis are collected in the Franciscan Sources Assisi 1978
On July 17, 1228, the day after the canonization of St. Francis, Pope Gregory IX laid the first stone of the basilica. The Pope wanted the construction of the new church as a grace received! (Pasquale Magro The sepulchral basilica of St. Francis in Assisi Assisi 1991, p.10) To express the gratitude of the Christian people to God who had given humanity a man like Francis. The sanctuary was conceived as a pilgrimage site not only for believers but also for non-believers, and this was realized by giving high artistic value to the Temple. Along with the church, the pope promoted the construction of a convent and a papal palace. On May 25, 1230, the Saint’s remains were transferred to a specially prepared cell beneath the main altar. On May 25, 1253, the basilica was solemnly consecrated by Pope Innocent IV. The Sanctuary has been and still is today a destination for devotees from all over the world.
The following list of indulgences is taken from: Angeli Francesco Maria, Collis Paradisi amoenitas, seu Sacri Conventus Assisiensis historiae libri II, Tipografia del Seminario, Montefiascone 1704, p.56-59. Constitution of the Treasury of Indulgences of the Sacred Basilica From the Clementines (and from all other cited jurists), it is emphasized that false indulgences are a cause of mortal damnation, hence an inventory of true indulgences is made: 1) Less than two years after the death of St. Francis, Gregory IX granted a 40-day indulgence with the bull Recolentes qualiter of April 29, 1224, for those contributing to the construction of the basilica in Assisi (the date of April 29, 1224, written in this document is incorrect, as it actually refers to 1231). 2) For the translation of the body, three years of indulgence, but only until Christmas of the same year with the bull Morificans Misericordias of 1226 (another incorrect date, it actually refers to 1233). 3) Innocent IV on February 13, 1252, grants a 15-day indulgence to those visiting the basilica for the feast of St. Francis, and then another 15 days for the same cause the following year, and again the year after, and with the bull Consacrationes Altarium 100 days for visitors on the day of St. Stanislaus, bull of January 26, 1244. 4) Alexander IV with the bull Pro reverentia B. Francisci on May 6, 1258, grants the Custodian of the Sacred Convent the power to validate the satisfaction of a vow even if made by others. 5) Clemente IV, with the bull Cum ad Promerenda of October 15, 1265, for the feast of St. Francis and the following eight days, grants an indulgence of one year and forty days. 6) Nicholas IV, with the bull Praecelsa Gloriosissima of May 4, 1289, grants each visitor an indulgence of one year and forty days, and with the bull Ante Thronum of January 21, 1288, grants for the feast of St. Francis and the following eight days an indulgence of one year and forty days. With the bull Eximia devotionis of June 13, 1291, grants an indulgence of one year and forty days for the feasts of Pentecost, Christmas, Annunciation, Purification, Assumption, and for the feast of St. Anthony of Padua. 7) Boniface VIII grants with the bull Licet is of January 22, 1294, to visitors of the church, one hundred days of indulgence, the same bull grants one year and forty days for those visiting the church on the day of the Saint’s feast and the following octave. 8) Boniface IX with the bull of October 31, 1391, grants visitors of the Chapel of St. Catherine on the day of the feast and the octave one year and forty days, with the bull of August 28, 1392, grants seven years and forty days. 9) Martin V with the bull of April 1, 1419, grants five years and forty days to those who assist the basilica with offerings. 10) Sixtus IV with the bull of November 26, 1472, grants two hundred years and forty days of indulgence to those visiting the basilica for the feast of the Assumption, St. Francis, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Bernardine of Siena, and who assist with offerings. 11) Gregory XIII with the bull of October 1, 1577, grants the release of a soul from purgatory by saying Mass from the altar of St. Francis. 12) Sixtus V with the bull of November 19, 1585, extends the indulgences to the confraternity of the cordonati, the archconfraternity of the confaloni of Rome, and extends it to peacemakers. 13) Paul V with the bull of March 2, 1607, confirms and adds seven years and forty days to the cordonati who visit the basilica. 14) Gregory XV with the bull of November 12, 1622, confirms and extends to the sick who cannot visit, but who recite the Pater Noster and the Ave Maria and the Gloria five times. 15) Innocent XII with the bull of August 18, 1695, grants perpetual plenary indulgence to visitors. (There are also two indulgences given orally and withdrawn or not confirmed, one by Gregory XV and the other by Urban VIII).

Piazza Inferiore di S. Francesco, 2, 06081 Assisi PG, Italy