Five Franciscan Study Reflections on Death, Dying, and Trust in God
Written By
Susan Pitchford TSSF
Sian Yates TSSF
These Study Reflections are available online here and published as a book at the end of August 2026.
Death touches every human life: through bereavement, illness, ageing, change and the many endings that shape us. Yet it is often hidden or feared, treated as something to deny or postpone.
This five-session series offers a gentle space to reflect on mortality through the wisdom of St Francis of Assisi. It offers no easy answers to grief or suffering. Instead, it explores how Christian faith and the Franciscan tradition can help us live freely in the face of death.
Inspired by Francis’s Canticle of the Creatures, written amid illness and pain, these sessions consider his praise of God through “our Sister Bodily Death”. Francis knew weakness, disappointment and loss, yet came to see death as part of creation’s journey home to God.
Drawing on Scripture and Franciscan writers, the sessions explore wonder, trust and resurrection hope, offering space for prayer, silence and reflection. Nothing can separate us from God’s love.
May these reflections help us live fully, love generously and trust deeply in the God who accompanies us in life, death and beyond.
