FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY
We sequester ourselves in lonely libraries before unyielding sources
and wish courage for ourselves.
We tread where angels fear to.
Yet, don’t you see, being the fool is the only way to find Francis?
That is because he went where fools go.”
— From A Mended and Broken Heart
Biographical Depth
Wendy’s foundational work captures the full humanity of Saints Francis and Clare. In A Mended and a Broken Heart: The Life and Love of Francis of Assisi (Basic Books, 2008; reissued 2012), she cuts through centuries of idealized hagiography, portraying Francis as a real man—complicated, included a profligate early life. She highlights the crucial but oft-neglected role Clare played in his life, his conversion, and his spiritual vision both before and after his transformation. The book presents Francis as a profoundly relatable role model whose struggles and radical choices speak to spiritual seekers across traditions.
Her biography, Clare of Assisi: Gentle Warrior (Paraclete Press), brings Clare into sharp focus as a figure of genuine heroism, tenacity, spiritual vision, and grit. Wendy explores Clare’s radical abandonment of wealth and status in service to Christ and devotion to Francis, including the trials she endured and the legacy she forged in the turbulent Middle Ages. Wendy positions her not merely as Francis’ close companion but as a powerful saint in her own right whose story inspires contemporary readers.
Wendy has spent more than two decades researching the intertwined lives of Francis and Clare, grounding her portraits in primary sources and historical context.
Inner Reflection
Wendy’s most recent book, Inner Healing the Franciscan Way: A Holy Re-Ordering of the Soul (Paraclete Press, September 2025), marks the practical maturation of her expertise. It offers a concise portraits of Francis and Clare and demonstrates how Franciscan spirituality can “infuse into our souls” clarity and a renewed sense of God’s presence.
Aimed at those who feel broken, lost, or spiritually depleted, the book serves as a roadmap for rediscovering divine grace through the re-ordering of the soul. It translates medieval Franciscan principles—humility, joyful poverty of spirit, embodied love, and radical trust—into tools for contemporary inner healing and spiritual renewal. This work bridges historical study with pastoral application, making her expertise directly accessible for personal transformation.
Pilgrimage
Since founding The Assisi Workshops in 2007, Wendy has led on-site programs, retreats, study tours, lectures, and writers’ workshops in Assisi and the Umbrian region. These experiences combine historical exploration of Sts. Francis’ and Clare’s lives, the tradition of Umbrian pilgrimage, and the integration of visual and literary arts.
The Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi—home to Francis’s tomb and a global pilgrimage center—is central to her work. Wendy has spent significant time in its libraries, particularly the Biblioteca Sacro Convento, which houses one of the oldest collections of Franciscan manuscripts, including texts penned by Francis’s scribe, Brother Leo, and illuminated codices containing the Canticle of the Creatures, written by Francis near death.
She posts frequently about Francis and Clare and Assisi in Substack newsletter Toward Home: Adventures of Heart and Spirit.
Expertise
Wendy Murray does not simply study Franciscan spirituality—she inhabits it through research, pilgrimage, writing, and teaching. Her work invites others to encounter Francis and Clare as living guides: models of mended brokenness, gentle strength, radical love, and the joyful re-ordering of the soul toward God. Whether through her books, workshops, or ongoing reflections, she offers a rich, accessible, and authentic path into this ancient yet ever-relevant spiritual tradition.
In September and October 2026 she is celebrating the 800th anniversary of Saint Francis’ death through her Franciscan Jubilee: Re-Ordering Your Soul campaign.