Saint Francis of Assisi and Pope Innocent III

Adorning the walls of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi are a series of twenty-eight frescoes painted by the famed Florentine Renaissance artist Giotto (1276-1337). They tell the story of a man’s extraordinary journey of faith; it is often said that St. Francis’s life more nearly mirrored Jesus Christ than any other human being. Each of Giotto’s frescoes is powerful in its spiritual representation and magnificent in its use of color, structure and form.  Back in August 2000, I was privileged to visit the Basilica and experience this spectacular tribute to God and Saint Francis.

 
For me personally, one fresco stands out in particular from this inspiring group:  “The Dream of Innocent III.”  As the title indicates, the fresco depicts a dream that Pope Innocent III had in 1208. On the viewer’s right side of the fresco, a richly adorned Pope Innocent III sleeps in an ornate bed chamber.  On the left side, the Lateran Basilica in Rome leans dangerously.  Its collapse is prevented by a humble man dressed in a simple robe who physically uses his shoulders to hold up the Basilica. 

 
You can find “The Dream of Innocent III” online at https://www.wikiart.org/en/giotto/the-dream-of-innocent-iii-1299  

At the time of Innocent III’s dream, St. Francis had gathered a small group of followers and was making his way to Rome to seek Papal authorization for their fledgling monastic order.  The Pope interpreted his dream to mean that St. Francis would been instrumental in reforming and strengthening the Catholic Church.  Accordingly, the Pope not only received St. Francis but also approved his order.   

“The Dream of Innocent III” depicts two men who in seemingly contradictory ways both made major contributions to the Church established by Jesus Christ.  Pope Innocent III represented Church power and authority.  “Innocent III was one of the most important and powerful popes in the entire history of the Church, and his pontificate is considered the summit of the medieval papacy,” wrote Richard P. McBrien in his Lives of the Popes (208).  Innocent III exerted his authority over not just the Church but secular states as well.  He combated heresy, reformed the Church and the clergy, and convened the Fourth Lateran Council.  

 
In stark contrast to the powerful Pope Innocent III was the humble St. Francis.  The son of a wealthy merchant, St. Francis renounced his life of privilege and embarked upon a faith journey of abject poverty and spiritual wealth. He soon attracted a group of like-minded followers and by example launched a religious order that dramatically improved the Church through piety, poverty and service. Led by his friend St. Clare, a female order developed to complement his efforts. He even was blessed to bear the Holy Wounds of our Savior - the Stigmata.  Death did not end his holy mission as evidenced by his many posthumous apparitions and intercessory miracles. 

In his General Audience of 27 January 2010, Pope Benedict XVI talked at length about the life of St. Francis and his contributions to reforming the Church.  In particular he mentioned the dream of Pope Innocent III.  He said:

“In it, he saw the Basilica of St John Lateran, the mother of all churches, collapsing and one small and insignificant religious brother supporting the church on his shoulders to prevent it from falling. On the one hand, it is interesting to note that it is not the Pope who was helping to prevent the church from collapsing but rather a small and insignificant brother, whom the Pope recognized in Francis when he later came to visit. Innocent III was a powerful Pope who had a great theological formation and great political influence; nevertheless he was not the one to renew the Church but the small, insignificant religious. It was St Francis, called by God. On the other hand, however, it is important to note that St Francis does not renew the Church without or in opposition to the Pope, but only in communion with him. The two realities go together: the Successor of Peter, the Bishops, the Church founded on the succession of the Apostles and the new charism that the Holy Spirit brought to life at that time for the Church's renewal. Authentic renewal grew from these together.” 

See https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100127.html 

 
In considering the “Dream of Innocent III,” we can symbolically see how selflessly St. Francis devoted himself to the Church that Christ established on earth.  He uses his body to prevent the Basilica from collapsing.  His countenance is one full of faith and determination, and is devoid of fear and ambition.  Like his role model Jesus Christ, he is willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the Church and mankind.  

[Note on sources:  In preparing this reflection, Richard P. McBrien’s Lives of the Popes (NY:  HarperSanFrancisco, 2000), H.W. Crocker III’s Triumph:  The Power and Glory of the Catholic Church (NY:  Prima Publishing, 2001), and The Illustrated Guide of Assisi were consulted.]