One book, one saint, eight centuries of devotion. Divine Inspiration: The Legacy of the St. Francis Missal, on view at the Walters Art Museum through February 7, 2027, centers on the museum’s most storied manuscript: a 12th-century Italian missal long associated with St. Francis of Assisi himself.
According to tradition, Francis opened this very book seeking divine guidance at the church of San Nicolò in Assisi — and found the words that shaped his mission. The exhibition places the missal among the Walters’ peerless manuscript collection, tracing how a working liturgical book became a relic, a pilgrimage object and a masterpiece of medieval art, its parchment pages glowing in the gallery created for them.
The Walters Art Museum is at 600 North Charles Street in Mount Vernon, and admission is free. Manuscript lovers: the Walters’ collection ranks among America’s finest — plan a slow morning.
