While the Basilica di San Francesco d’Assisi is a papal basilica, the Cattedrale di San Rufino di Assisi, dedicated to San Rufino (Rufinus of Assisi), is a parish church that serves the Assisi community and has also been important in the history of the Franciscan order. Upon hearing Francesco preaching in this church in 1209, Clare was deeply touched by his message and realized her calling. The church, started in 1140 and in the Umbrian Romanesque style, was the third built on the same site to contain the remains of bishop Rufinus of Assisi, martyred in the 3rd century. In 1228, while he was in Assisi for the canonization of Saint Francis, Pope Gregory IX consecrated the high altar. Pope Innocent IV inaugurated the finished church in 1253. Inside is the baptismal font in which Saint Francis was baptized in 1182, Saint Clare in 1193, many of their original followers, and Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows in 1838.
- Umbria
