St Mary of the Angels known as the Portiuncula, is conceivably the most important Franciscan sanctuary in Assisi for the memories of Francis that it contains. He was so fond of the little church that he once said to the brothers, “If anyone should evict you from one door, return through another one.”     Francis lived there with the brothers in community, and he considered it his home base. After St. Clare left her family on Palm Sunday 1212, she met Francis in the Portiuncula where he gave her the tonsure. Finally, there Francis died on 3 October 1226.
   According to the traditional account, in July 1216, St. Francis was praying in the Portiuncula when he had a vision of Jesus and the Virgin Mary surrounded by a host of angels.
   Jesus asked him what grace he desired, to which Francis replied that he desired the complete forgiveness of all sins for everyone who came to this beloved little church. Jesus replied that he should go to the pope, since he was the Vicar of Christ, to request such an indulgence. St. Francis went to Perugia, where Pope Honorius III had just been elected pontiff, and made his request that anyone who journeyed to St Mary of the Angels would receive a plenary indulgence – a full pardon for their sins. Such a request was unprecedented. There were only a few ways to receive a plenary indulgence at that time – by making a pilgrimage to one of the great basilicas in Christendom such as St Peter’s in Rome, St James in Compostela, St Mary Magdalene in France, or by making the “queen of all pilgrimages” to the Holy Land. It was inconceivable to attach a plenary indulgence to a wayside country church.
Perhaps miraculously, Pope Honorius granted Francis his request. However, he limited the indulgence to just one day a year – August 2nd.
   The indulgence was initially limited to the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels in Assisi for August 2nd. However, over time, the indulgence was extended to all Franciscan churches around the world on that day. Today, the indulgence is available in Assisi any day of the year.
   Today, The “Pardon of Assisi” can be obtained from the evening of August 1 until midnight on August 2. 
To obtain the plenary indulgence, the faithful should:
   Go to confession (a week before or after August 2)
   Receive the Eucharist (a week before or after 2 August 2)
   Recite the Creed and the Our Father, and pray for the intentions of the Pope
   Visit a Franciscan church or any parish church on 1 or 2 August to honor Our Lady of the Angels of Portiuncula.
St. Anthony of Padua, doctor of the church and patron saint of our parish, was a Franciscan friar, and our church here is connected through his patronage to the Franciscan heritage. God forgives us as long as we repent!