"San Francesco Antonio Fasani"

Ciro Spagnuolo

"The Church of San Francesco was built by Charles II of Anjou between 1300 and 1304 in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. It is in Gothic-Angevin style with a single nave and an apse. At the center of the apse, beneath the high altar, in a crystal and bronze urn, the body of Saint Francis Antonio Fasani, known to all as the Father Master, is preserved and venerated. Saint Francis Antonio Fasani was a religious man and priest belonging to the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. On the day of his entrance into the faith, he chose the name Francis Anthony as an act of devotion to two giants of holiness whom he had chosen to imitate: Saint Francis of Assisi, the "all seraphic in ardor," and Saint Anthony of Padua, the saint of the poor. In this church, he was seen several times rising into the air, thus resembling another great saint, Saint Joseph of Cupertino. He was canonized on April 13, 1986, by John Paul II.
On the sides of the nave are five 18th-century sandstone altars containing wooden statues of the venerated saints. On the left side, starting from the entrance, are the altars dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi (1713), the Crucified Jesus (1600), and Saint Anthony of Padua (1943). On the right side, however, are the altars dedicated to the Ecce Homo (1600) and the Immaculate Conception (1718), alternating with the pulpit, constructed from the ancient sarcophagus of the noble knight Santa from 1555. The statues of Saint Francis of Assisi and the Immaculate Conception were commissioned by Padre Maestro from Giacomo Colombo. The statue of the Ecce Homo is attributed to Aniello Stellato. Father Maestro used to pray before the statue of the Immaculate Conception and was seen in ecstasy several times. It is said that one evening he saw her come to life and received an answer to his prayer. He also obtained healing for a child who could not walk after placing him three times on the altar dedicated to her.
In 2001, the church was declared the "Diocesan Shrine of San Francesco Antonio Fasani," where every year thousands of devotees gather at the foot of the altar to honor the body of Father Maestro. In 2008, the sanctuary was declared a "Monument Witness to a Culture of Peace" and on May 11, 2012, it was elevated to the dignity of a minor basilica."

Gianni

"On the edge of the old town of Luceria stands the simple church of San Francesco. It once belonged to the Teutonic Knights. The façade, stripped down to its essentials, features a large stepped porta, covered by a canopy, in a mixed Romanesque-Gothic style. Above it is a remarkable rose window.
The interior is dominated by the austerity of the Franciscan order. Several valuable frescoes can be admired.
The church was dedicated to Saint Francesco Antonio Fasani."

Gernot Berndt