Pater Noster Fraternity at 5419 North 114th Street, Omaha, NE 68164 US - The Franciscan Tau Cross

Blessing for Brother Leo

AN EXPLANATION OF THE 'TAU' SYMBOL The first recorded reference to the TAU is from Ezekiel 9:4, "Go through the city of Jerusalem and put a TAU on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it." The TAU is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet and looks very much like the letter "T". At the Fourth Lateran Council, on November 11, 1215, Pope Innocent made reference to the TAU and quoted the above verse in reference to the profaning of the Holy Places by the Saracens. Pope Innocent III used this image from the prophet Ezekiel for the theme of the opening homily of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). It is widely accepted that St. Francis was present at the Fourth Lateran Council and that he heard the words of Pope Innocent III when he said, "The TAU has exactly the same form as the Cross on which our Lord was crucified on Calvary. Only those will be marked with this sign and will obtain mercy, who have mortified their flesh and conformed their life to that of the Crucified Savior. The Tau became a symbol from the Council for spiritual renewal in the Church. Francis used the TAU in his writings, painted in on the walls and doors of the places where he stayed, and used it as his only signature on his writings. From then on, the TAU became Francis' own "coat of arms." St. Bonaventure said, "This TAU symbol had all the veneration and all the devotion of the saint: he spoke of it often in order to recommend it, and he traced it on himself before beginning each of his actions." Thomas of Celano, another Franciscan historian writes, "Francis preferred the Tau above all other symbols: he utilized it as his only signature for his letters, and he painted the image of it on the walls of all the places in which he stayed." In the famous blessing of Brother Leo,(pictured above) Francis wrote on parchment, "May the Lord bless you and keep you! May the Lord show His face to you and be merciful to you! May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace! God bless you Brother Leo!" Francis sketched a head (of Brother Leo) and then drew the TAU over this portrait. Due, no doubt, in large part to Francis' own affection for and devotion to the TAU, it has been a well recognized and accepted Franciscan symbol among Franciscans of various denominations and of all orders within those denominations for centuries. It remains so today. The TAU carries with it all of the symbolism of the Cross of Christ as well as Francis' ideal of life and dream for himself and his followers. This coat of arms has been the symbol of the Franciscan for many centuries. The image of the two crossed arms, known as the "conformities" each with a nail wound in the hand, represent both Christ and St. Francis who received the Stigmata (the wounds of Christ) in his body two years before he died. The cross behind the arms is actually the letter 'T' or 'tau' which is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Francis was very fond of the passage in the prophet Ezekiel (9:4) which refers to the faithful of God all being signed on the forehead with the letter 'tau'. Francis often signed his letters with this symbol. "For even while he [Francis] lived among men, he imitated angelic purity so that he was held up as an example for those who would be perfect followers of Christ. We are led to hold this firmly and devoutly because of his ministry to call men to weep and mourn, to shave their heads, and to put on sackcloth, and to mark with a Tau the foreheads of men who moan and grieve, signing them with the cross of penance and clothing them with his habit, which is in the form of a cross". ~ ~ ~

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