event

The (Almost) Everything About the Poverello Special Events Series | "The Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi: Seeing Franciscan Spirituality"

20

Jun

The The (Almost) Everything About the Poverello Special Events Series Public Lecture titled “The Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi: Seeing Franciscan Spirituality” by Fr Francis Lee Yongho, OFM will take place on Saturday 20 June, from 14:30 – 16:00, at the Jubilee Hall, Colégio de Santa Rosa de Lima (Chinese Section).

About the Talk:

Medieval churches functioned not only as places of worship and communal gathering, but also as architectural canvases through which theological and spiritual ideas were visually expressed. The Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi offers a remarkable example of this integration of art, architecture, and spirituality in the Franciscan tradition. This talk will explore how Franciscan theology and spirituality are embodied in the basilica’s fresco cycles, with particular attention to their visual program and intended compositional meaning.

About the Speaker:

Fr Francis Lee Yongho, OFM (Franciscan School of Theology, University of San Diego)

“My study of Buddhism definitely shed new light on my understanding of Christianity and even of Franciscan spirituality. It also brought me home, but the home I found is not only the Christian tradition but also the Buddhist. The journey to Buddhism is a way to my new home where my adopted home, the Christian tradition, is now renewed and merged with my old home, the Buddhist tradition.” Yongho Francis Lee, OFM—Becoming a Christian and Practicing Comparative Theology for a Korean Theologian.

Yongho Francis Lee, O.F.M., a Franciscan friar of the Korean Province, is Assistant Professor of Systematic and Comparative Theology at the Franciscan School of Theology, where he joined the faculty in January 2024 after four years of teaching at the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome.

He received his academic training at Boston College for Licenticate in Sacred Theology and the University of Notre Dame for PhD. His research focuses on the Church’s engagement with cultural and religious diversity, particularly the dynamic interactions between Eastern and Western religious traditions. He has a special interest in the dialogue between Buddhism and Franciscanism, as exemplified in his book, Mysticism and Intellect in Medieval Christianity and Buddhism: Ascent and Awakening in Bonaventure and Chinul, as well as in several journal articles. Through studying, living, and teaching in various countries, he has developed a strong commitment to intercultural learning and living. In addition to his work in intercultural and interreligious theology, he has developed an interest in the visual representation of Franciscan spiritual and theological concepts, examining their historical development and cross-cultural adaptation. His current research includes a study of the fresco cycle in the Luke Wadding Cloister at Saint Isidore College, Rome, and the Franciscan Allegory in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.