She sent word of this to blessed Francis through one of the brothers. Blessed Francis heard this and was moved to piety, since he loved her and her sisters with fatherly affection because of their holy manner of living, and especially because, a few years after he began to have brothers, she was converted to the Lord through his advice, working with the Lord. ^{Mk 16:20} Her conversion not only greatly edified the religion of the brothers, but also the entire Church of God.

Blessed Francis truly considered what Lady Clare desired, that is, to see him, could not be done then because they were both seriously ill. To console her, he wrote his blessing in a letter and also absolved her from any failings, if she had any, regarding his commands and wishes or the commands and wishes of the Son of God. Moreover, so that she would put aside all her grief and be consoled in the Lord, he, or rather the Spirit of God speaking through him, spoke to the brother Lady Clare had sent. "Go and take this letter to the Lady, and tell her to put aside all her grief and sorrow over not being able to see me now. Let her be assured that before her death, both she and her sisters will see me and will receive the greatest consolation from me."^a

Soon afterwards blessed Francis passed away during the night. In the morning, all the people of the city of Assisi, men and women, with all the clergy, took the holy body from the place where he had died. With hymns and praises, all carrying tree-branches, they carried him to San Damiano at the Lord's will, in order to fulfill that word which the Lord had spoken through His saint to console His daughters and servants.

The iron grille was removed from the window through which the servants of Christ usually receive communion and sometimes hear the word of God. The brothers lifted his holy body from the stretcher and, raising him in their arms, they held him in front of the window for over an hour. By then Lady Clare and her sisters had received great consolation from him, although with many tears and afflicted with great grief, because, after God, he was their one consolation in this world.^b

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Saturday evening before nightfall, after vespers, when blessed Francis passed to the Lord, many birds called larks flew low above

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³Et ideo per quendam fratrem beato Francisco hec significavit. ⁴Beatus Franciscus hoc audiens, cum diligeret eam ac eius sorores paternali affectione propter sanctam earum conversationem, motus est ad pietatem, maxime quia post paucos annos, ex quo cepit habere fratres, Domino cooperante, suis monitis conversa fuit ad Dominum; ⁵de eius conversione non solum religioni fratrum edificatio maxima fuit, sed etiam universali Ecclesie Dei.

⁶Verum considerans beatus Franciscus quoniam, quod desiderabat domina Clara, videlicet ipsum videre, tunc fieri non posset, quia uterque infirmabatur graviter, ad consolandum ipsam scripsit ei per litteram suam [benedictionem ⁷ac etiam absolvit ipsam ab omni defectu si quem habuisset in] eius mandatis et voluntatibus ac etiam mandatis et voluntatibus Filii Dei. ⁸Insuper ut deponeret omnem tristitiam et consolaretur in Domino, non ipse, sed Spiritus Domini locutus est in eo hec verba dicens eidem fratri, quem miserat domina Clara: 9 « Vade et porta hanc litteram domine et dices ei, quod deponat omnem dolorem et tristitiam, quia modo me videre non potest; ¹⁰sed in veritate sciat, quod ante obitum suum tam ipsa, quam eius sorores me videbunt et maximam consolationem de me habebunt ».

¹¹Factum est autem ut, cum paulo post migraret de nocte beatus Franciscus, mane facto universus populus civitatis Assisii, virorum ac mulierum cum universo clero, tollens sanctum corpus de loco ubi obierat, cum hymnis et laudibus et accipientes singuli ramos arborum de voluntate Domini portarent illud ad Sanctum Damianum, ¹²ut impleretur sermo, quem Dominus locutus est in sancto suo ad consolandum filias et ancillas suas.

¹³Et remota crate ferrea de fenestra, per quam, Christi ancille comunicare solent et aliquando audire verbum Dei, tulerunt fratres sanctum corpus de lecto et tenuerunt ipsum inter brachia ad fenestram per magnam horam, ¹⁴donec domina Clara ac eius sorores haberent de ipso magnam consolationem, licet lacrimis multis et afflicte doloribus, quoniam post Deum erat unica consolatio earum in hoc seculo.

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¹Sero diei sabati post vesperas ante noctem, qua migravit ad Dominum beatus Franciscus, multe aves, que dicuntur laude, supra tectum domus, in [qua] iacebat beatus Franciscus, non multum alte volabant