In May 1221, over 5,000 friars gathered at St Mary of the Angels for an important meeting.
This event is called the ‘Chapter of Mats’ because of the temporary shelters made of trellises and mats where the brothers gathered. They organised themselves into groups based on their respective provinces, devoting themselves to prayer and dialogue in a devout and orderly manner. This gathering is documented in Chapter XVIII of the Fioretti of St Francis, which describes the scene: ‘There were in that field roofs of trellises and mats, and distinguished by towers, according to the brothers of different Provinces; and therefore that Chapter was called, the Chapter of trellises or of mats’ (FF 1848):
CHAPTER 18
of the Fioretti of Saint Francis
Of the marvellous Chapter which Saint Francis held
at Santa Maria degli Agnoli, where more than five thousand friars attended.
(FF 1848)
The faithful servant of Christ, Saint Francis once held a General Chapter at Santa Maria degli Agnoli, at which more than five thousand friars(38) came together; and Saint Dominic, the head and foundation of the Order of Preaching Friars, came there; who at that time was on his way from Burgundy to Rome, and hearing of the congregation of the Chapter that Saint Francis was holding in the plaza of Santa Maria degli Agnoli, went to see it with seven friars of his Order.
There was also at the said Chapter a Cardinal who was a great devotee of St. Francis, to whom he had prophesied that he would be Pope, and so it was; this Cardinal had come from Perugia, where the court was, to Ascesi; and every day he came to see St. Francis and his friars, and sometimes he sang Mass, sometimes he preached to the friars in Chapter; and the said Cardinal took great pleasure and devotion when he came to visit that holy college. And when he saw the brothers sitting in rows and rows on that plain around Saint Mary’s, here forty, where a hundred, where eighty together, all occupied with reasoning about God, in prayers, in tears, in exercises of charity; and they stood in such silence and with such modesty, that not a sound was heard there, not a crunch; and marvelling at so great a multitude in such an order, he said with tears and with great devotion: “Truly this is the camp and army of God’s knights! “.
No one could be heard in such a multitude speaking fables or lies, but wherever there was a gathering of brothers, either they were praying, or they were saying office, or they were lamenting their own sins or those of their benefactors, or they were discussing the health of souls. There were roofs of latticework and mats in that field, and they were divided into groups, according to the brothers of different Provinces; and therefore that Chapter was called the Chapter of latticework or of mats. Their beds were plain earth, and those who had a little straw; the bedsteads were either stone or wood. For this reason there was so much devotion to them, to everyone who heard or saw them, and so much fame for their holiness, that from the court of the Pope, which was then in Perugia, and from the other lands of the Valley of Spulito, many counts, barons and knights and other gentle men came to see them and many commoners and cardinals and bishops and abbots and with many other clerics, to see that so holy and great and humble congregation, which the world never had, of so many holy men together; and chiefly they came to see the chief and most holy father of that holy people, who had stolen from the world so fair a prey and gathered so beautiful and devout a flock to follow in the footsteps of the true shepherd Jesus Christ. T
herefore, the whole general chapter being assembled, the holy father of all and general minister, Saint Francis, in fervour of spirit proposed the word of God, and preached to them in a loud voice what the Holy Spirit caused him to speak; and for the theme of the sermon he prophesied these words: “My sons, great things have we promised to God, too great are those which God has promised to us if we observe those which we have promised to him; and let us certainly await those which are promised to us. Brieve is the delight of the world, but the sorrow that follows it is perpetual. Small is the pain of this life, but the glory of the other life is infinite”. And on these words, preaching most devoutly, he comforted and induced all the brothers to obedience and reverence of holy mother Church and to fraternal charity, and to pray for all God’s people, to have patience in the adversities of the world and temperance in prosperity, and to keep worldly life and angelic chastity, and to have concord and peace with God and with men and with their own conscience, and love and observance of most holy poverty.
And there he said: “I command, through the merit of holy obedience, that all of you who are gathered together, that none of you have any care or solicitude for anything to eat or drink or for anything necessary for the body, but only to pray and praise God; and leave all the care of your body to him, for he has special care of you. And all received this commandment with a cheerful heart and happy face. And when the sermon of Saint Francis was finished, they all threw themselves into prayer. Saint Dominic, who was present at all these things, greatly marvelled at the commandment of Saint Francis and considered it indiscreet, not being able to think how so many could be held up, without having any care or solicitude for the things necessary to the body. But the chief shepherd, blessed Christ, wishing to show how he cares for his sheep and has a singular love for his poor, immediately inspired the people of Perugia, Spulito and Foligno, Spello and Ascesi and the other surrounding lands, to bring food and drink to that holy congregation. And there came immediately from the aforesaid lands men with mules, horses, wagons, laden with bread and wine, broad beans, cheese and other good things to eat, according as the poor of Christ were in need. Besides this, they brought tablecloths, jars, bowls, glasses and other vessels that were needed by so many. And blessed was he who could carry more, or serve more promptly, so much so that the knights and barons and other gentlemen who came to see, served them with great humility and devotion.
When Saint Dominic saw these things and truly knew that divine providence was at work in them, he humbly acknowledged that he had falsely judged Saint Francis to be an indiscreet ruler, and he knelt down and went before him and humbly told him his fault and added “Truly God has special care of these poor saints, and I did not know it; and from now on I promise to observe evangelical and holy poverty; and I malign on God’s side all the brothers of my Order, who in the said Order will presume to have their own. Therefore Saint Dominic was greatly edified by the faith of the most holy Francis, and by the obedience and poverty of so great and orderly a college, and by the divine providence and abundance of every good. In that same Chapter, Saint Francis was told that many of the brothers wore their hearts on their flesh and iron hoops; for which reason many of them were infirm and died, and many were prevented from praying. Saint Francis, as a most discreet father, commanded, through holy obedience, that whoever had either a heart or an iron hoop, should take it and place it before him. And so they did. And they counted a good five hundred iron heartlets and so many more hoops from arms and bellies, that they made a great mound and Saint Francis had them all left there.
When the Chapter was over, Saint Francis comforted them all in goodness and taught them how they should go without sin in this evil world. With God’s blessing and his own, he sent them back to their provinces, all comforted with spiritual joy. In praise of Jesus Christ and the poor Francis. Amen.
