‘Transitus’ at Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land marks 800 years since St. Francis’ death

Franciscan friars, priests, nuns, and laypeople held a Transitus procession on Oct. 3 to mark the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi. The group walked a mile and a half from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington.

The procession concluded at the monastery, where friars carried the San Damiano cross. The Transitus is an annual commemoration held each Oct. 3 to mark the saint's transition from life to death.