Following Francis and Clare

A Complete Pilgrim’s Guide to Assisi, La Verna, and the Rieti Valley

De: Bret Thoman

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Assisi is known throughout the world as the city of Saints Francis and Clare and the cradle of Franciscan spirituality. Just as Rome is Italy’s political capital and Milan its economic center, Assisi is often called the spiritual heart of the nation. With St. Francis as patron saint of Italy, countless pilgrims journey here each year seeking peace, renewal, and a deeper encounter with God. Yet Assisi belongs not only to Italians or Catholics—people of every nation and background have discovered a unique tranquility in this “seraphic city.”

This comprehensive Catholic pilgrimage guide leads readers through the most important sites connected to the lives of Francis and Clare in Assisi and the surrounding region, including Mount Subasio, the Spoleto Valley, the mountain sanctuary of La Verna—where St. Francis received the stigmata—and the four Franciscan hermitages of the Rieti Valley.
But this book is more than a travel guide. It is written to help readers enter into the heart of the Franciscan spiritual tradition that shaped these two saints. Each section provides historical background, photographs, and context for every site. More importantly, it offers spiritual reflections and questions designed to deepen the pilgrim’s experience.

Written by veteran Franciscan pilgrimage guide Bret Thoman, OFS, this book reflects more than two decades of experience leading pilgrims through the sacred sites of Assisi and central Italy. A member of the Secular Franciscan Order since 2003, with academic formation in Italian studies and Franciscan spirituality, he brings both historical knowledge and pastoral insight to the pilgrim’s journey.

Whether you are planning a pilgrimage or retreat in Assisi, or seeking inspiration from your armchair at home, this guide offers both practical direction and spiritual depth. By walking the same paths, praying in the same sanctuaries, and reflecting on their lives, readers encounter not only the history of Francis and Clare—but the living spirituality that animated everything they did.