San Damiano info (1)
In the early 1980s, a small Franciscan ministry in Steubenville, Ohio, began working to make the spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi more widely known in America. At the heart of that effort was the San Damiano Cross—the beloved
image of Christ that, according to Franciscan tradition, spoke to St. Francis with the words, “Francis, go and repair my house which, as you see, is falling into ruin.”
At the time, authentic reproductions of the San Damiano Cross were difficult and
expensive to obtain in the United States. Through Franciscan connections in Assisi, a professional photograph of the original cross was obtained and used to begin reproducing the image for students and faculty at the College of Steubenville.
Working by hand in a small garage woodshop at t
he Holy Spirit Friary, the first crosses were
produced locally. They quickly became popular on
campus and among Catholics attending the
College’s summer conferences. In 1985, the
workshop was commissioned to create the large
San Damiano Cross for Christ the King Chapel,
where it remained for nearly 40 years.
As devotion to the San Damiano Cross spread, the small ministry continued to
grow. In 1994, Mark Nelson purchased the business and continued its work of
making the San Damiano Cross available through crosses, gifts, holy cards,
and other devotional products.
For over 30 years, we used the original scan from Assisi as the basis for all our San Damiano items. However, in 2024, Mark and Gretchen went on a tour of Italy with close friends and were able to see the original San Damiano cross in the Basilica di Santa Chiara. Mark at that point realized that the scan did not do the original justice and was surprised to discover that in the original cross, Christ’s head is tilted forward. He spent several hours photographing the cross in order to replicate what he encountered in Italy.
Soon after returning from Italy, Nelson’s was commissioned
to build a new San Damiano cross for the renovation of Christ the King Chapel at Franciscan University. The committee in
charge of the renovation requested that it be as accurate to
the original as possible (although slightly taller at 8ft instead
of 7ft). Mark went back to the photos from Italy and used
them to design a cross that looked to be carved out of stone
with Christ’s head tilted forward. Meanwhile, we took the
opportunity to revise the colors and details of the cross in
order for it to match the original. The result is a stunning work of art that sits above the altar of Christ the King Chapel.
Now, in honor of the Jubilee Year of St. Francis, we are excited to release the newly revised cross across our product line. Moving forward, all items with the San Damiano image will feature the updated color and details. It is our hope that
it continues to inspire the faithful and serve as beautiful
reminder of the devotion of St. Francis.
