On June 23-30, 2024, the Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service, and the Franciscan Action Network (FAN), facilitated a “Peace and Justice Pilgrimage” to Assisi, where thirty-seven participants from the United States and Australia reflected on the call to peacemaking today in light of the nonviolence practiced by St. Francis and St. Clare—and in light of the profound crises of war and violence the world faces today.
Friar Michael LASKY, a FAN Board Member and our General Delegate for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC), joined Ken BUTIGAN of the Pace e Bene organization in leading this thoughtful exploration of nonviolent change. Pilgrims from many different places walked side-by-side, visiting numerous sites that had shaped the lives of the founders of the Franciscan tradition. The pilgrims reflected on how the peacebuilding practiced by the founders eight centuries ago still speaks to the realities that confront us now. During the week the pilgrims spent together, they created a life-giving community known as “The City of Peace.” Special thanks to Friar Alfredo AVALLONE, the Guardian at the inter-obediential Chiesa Nuova Friary in Assisi, who graciously shared his insights and wisdom with the group as we visited the Bernardone Family home and workplace.
Francis and Clare undertook a lifelong pilgrimage of peace and nonviolence in the face of the war and violence of their own time. Francis made peace between Assisi’s mayor and bishop. He made peace between the warring factions of a city. He made peace with bandits. He made peace with the excluded. He made peace with Sultan Malik al- Kamil during the Fifth Crusade. Moreover, he is even said to have made peace between an Italian hill-town and a ravenous wolf. Clare carried out nonviolent action by creating and sustaining a culture of peace at San Damiano. She successfully campaigned for the Church to approve the first-ever religious rule written by a woman. Moreover, on two separate occasions, she nonviolently fended off military attacks made against her community.
Francis and Claire entered the arena of conflict with love and determination. They did so using the most powerful means at their disposal—their own unarmed bodies, their own vulnerable presence, and their own spirit of compassion, all grounded in the power and grace of the nonviolent God who had called them to heal and transform the world. Their approach has helped break open possibilities for healing and life from the 13th century down to our own day. In light of these stories and much more, the “Peace and Justice Pilgrimage” to Assisi offered each pilgrim opportunities to envision their next steps as peacemakers, in their own lives and contexts.
Friar Michael LASKY
