Walters exhibit showcases rare missal linked to St. Francis, El Greco painting October 15, 2026By Nora Hamerman Catholic Review Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Feature, Local News, News Just in time for the Jubilee Year of St. Francis declared by the Holy Father, the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore is exhibiting one of its most precious artifacts: the St. Francis Missal, an early 13th-century book of texts for the Mass that played a seminal role in the history of the Franciscan movement. The missal is believed to be the very book St. Francis and his band of followers consulted in 1208 as they sought inspiration for their new way of life. During the exhibition, it will be opened to two of the three passages they found, texts that pointed them to God’s command to renounce earthly goods. The venerable volume was painstakingly conserved from 2016 to 2018 and was last displayed publicly in 2020. This new installation reprises that earlier exhibition but adds several important works and interpretive tools, according to curator Lynley Ann Herbert. A new exhibition at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore features a display of the missal believed to be used by St. Francis of Assisi to discern his calling to religious life. (Courtesy Walters Art Museum) Visitors can explore a touch-screen presentation detailing the conservation process and view a newly identified 13th-century manuscript depicting Francis preaching to the animals alongside his first female follower, St. Clare. Another highlight is a rare reliquary that still contains its original relics and features the delicate technique of verre églomisé, which combines gold and glass. From Missal to Movement The missal on display is linked to one of the defining moments in Franciscan history. According to tradition, Francis and his companions turned to the book in search of spiritual guidance and found passages that called them to lives of poverty and discipleship, helping shape the foundations of the order. The exhibition also explores Francis’ enduring significance as a saint. In 1224, while meditating on the sufferings of Christ on the mountainside of La Verna in Italy’s Apennine Mountains, Francis experienced a vision of a seraph, a six-winged angel of the highest order. Afterward, he found his hands, feet and side marked with Christ’s wounds, becoming the first recorded recipient of the stigmata. Beginning with his canonization in 1228, Francis came to be regarded as an alter Christus, or “another Christ,” a believer who embodied the Christian call to imitate Christ’s teachings and actions. His embrace of voluntary poverty, joyful appreciation of creation and ability to bring the Gospel to ordinary people through vivid acts of devotion, including the first Nativity scene, helped make him one of Christianity’s most beloved saints. El Greco Highlights the Exhibition A major addition to the Walters’ 2020 presentation is its celebrated painting of St. Francis by El Greco. “When we exhibited the missal in 2020,” Herbert said, “our wonderful El Greco painting showing St. Francis receiving the stigmata was on loan to an exhibition in Paris. The inclusion of that painting in our new installation has been transformative.” The painting departs from more narrative depictions of the event. The absence of a detailed setting, the brilliance of the apparition and El Greco’s characteristic elongation of the figure create an intensely spiritual vision. Adding a touch of realism is what appears to be a scrap of paper attached to the canvas bearing the artist’s signature. El Greco was himself a lay Franciscan. The new exhibition at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore features a display of the missal believed to be used by St. Francis of Assisi. (Courtesy Walters Art Museum) “Having it at eye level in such an intimate space allows our visitors to almost feel they are in the same space as Francis, sharing in his vision as only El Greco can capture it,” Herbert said. Other works in the exhibition tell the story more directly. A late-15th-century painting by Venetian artist Marco Zoppo places the stigmatization amid craggy mountains, with a great basilica in the distance. Remarkably, Zoppo shows the seraph-crucifix from behind to the viewer while Francis sees it frontally. Brother Leo, who witnessed the miracle, sits nearby. A small painting from around 1430 depicts the Transitus, or passage of St. Francis from earthly life to eternal life, in 1226, when a friar reveals the wounds Francis had sought to hide. Another small oil painting from around 1600, from the studio of landscape artist Paul Brill, places Francis alone in a dense forest, evoking his deep connection to the natural world. Also on view is a rare 14th-century diptych containing relics of several Franciscan saints, including Francis and Clare. Each relic is accompanied by a portrait and an identifying inscription. The exhibition continues through Feb. 1, 2027. Admission to the Walters Art Museum is always free. read more arts and culture Dolly Parton’s life of faith ‘Hillbilly Thomists’ set to perform at Ss. Philip and James New documentary brings ‘farm boy’ martyr Blessed Stanley Rother to wider Church Radio Interview: Why a world-class pianist gave up a promising career to become a priest Spain’s Sagrada Familia Basilica invites visitors to see ‘Bible in stone’ Cultural trends and technology threaten contemplation, Cardinal Roche says Copyright © 2026 Catholic Review Media Print
