Clare died at San Damiano in 1253 and was canonized by Pope Alexander IV in 1255. She is honored for her life, more than forty years of poverty and prayer at San Damiano, and not for the state of her body. Benedict XVI recalled that she was the first woman in the Church's history to compose a written Rule, submitted for the Pope's approval.
Pilgrims go down to the crypt to pray at the shrine, and the same basilica keeps the original San Damiano cross, the crucifix before which Francis heard his call, in the Chapel of the Crucifix, so one visit holds both.
Good to know before you go: as of October 10, 2026 the basilica lists its hours as early morning until midday and again from early afternoon until the end of Vespers, around early evening in winter and a little later in summer, with visits admitted from mid-morning. On weekdays it closes over lunch; on Saturdays, Sundays and major feasts, including August 11 and October 3 and 4, it stays open through the day. Masses are celebrated early in the morning and in the late afternoon, with an additional late-morning Mass on Sundays. The page gives no separate hours for the crypt.