This week in Christian history: Rich Mullins dies in traffic accident, St. Francis of Assisi stigmata, King Henry IV absolved

Saint Francis of Assisi receives stigmata – Sept. 14, 1224

This week marks the anniversary of when it's believed Saint Francis of Assisi had an angelic vision, which resulted in him receiving stigmata, or wounds that mirrored the wounds Jesus received on the cross.

According to an account written by Franciscan Brother Thomas of Celano in 1229, Saint Francis was at the hermitage of La Verna in what is now Italy when, on or around Sept. 14, he saw a vision while in prayer.

Thomas of Celano wrote that Saint Francis beheld “a man like a seraph having six wings, standing over him with hands outstretched and feet joined together, fixed to a cross.”

As Saint Francis was trying to understand the vision, Thomas of Celano noted, “marks of nails began to appear in his hands and feet” and “his right side, as it had been pierced by a lance, was overlaid with a scar, and often shed forth blood.”

Despite claims of such dramatic physical mutilation, Saint Francis was said to hide the wounds under his clothing and rarely discussed the matter, even with fellow monks.