On the night of August 1, 1216, Saint Francis of Assisi claimed to have received a vision in the tiny chapel of the Porziuncola, near Assisi, Italy. In this vision, Christ and the Virgin Mary granted him a unique indulgence: anyone who visited the chapel on its feast day, with true repentance, would be forgiven all their sins. This extraordinary promise, known as the Porziuncola Indulgence or Jubilee, was ratified by Pope Honorius III the very next day.

Centuries later, Bartolomé Estebán Murillo captured this moment of divine generosity in his painting, bringing the legendary event to life for the faithful of seventeenth-century Spain. Murillo chooses the exact instant when the celestial vision appears above the humble Saint Francis. The saint kneels, arms outstretched, his coarse brown habit contrasting with the golden radiance that bathes Christ and the Virgin, who hover in the clouds. Angels crowd the heavens, their gestures echoing the miracle’s joy, while a faintly rendered chapel anchors the scene on earth.

The light pours downward, linking the divine figures to Francis, a device reminiscent of Guido Reni’s heavenly apparitions, yet Murillo’s softer brushwork and warm palette make the miracle feel intimate and accessible. The scattered pilgrims in the shadows remind viewers that this grace is offered to all who seek it. The precise origin of this particular Jubilee of the Porziuncola is not fully documented, but it belongs to a series of large religious canvases Murillo painted for Franciscan patrons in Seville during the 1660s. These works, intended for churches and convents, helped cement Murillo’s reputation as the leading Spanish painter of religious subjects in his generation.

Over time, many of these paintings were dispersed, especially during the upheavals of the Napoleonic Wars. Today, The Jubilee of the Porziuncola is recognized as a testament to Murillo’s ability to make sacred history both immediate and deeply human, though the details of its early provenance remain uncertain.