Portiuncula

thumb|right|Vigil at the Portiuncula on the eve of the Feast of the Pardon (August, 2013) The Portiuncula () is a historic chapel in the town of Santa Maria degli Angeli, near Assisi, Italy. It is closely associated with Francis of Assisi and the Order of Friars Minor, who used the chapel as their headquarters. Following Francis's death in 1226, it became an important pilgrimage site. In the 16th century, a vast basilica, the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels, was built around the Portiuncula.

==History== According to a legend, whose existence can be traced back with certainty only to 1645, the little chapel of Portiuncula was erected under Pope Liberius (352–366) by hermits from the Valley of Josaphat, who had brought relics from the grave of the Virgin Mary. The same legend says that the chapel passed into the possession of Benedict of Nursia in 516. It was known as Our Lady of the Valley of Josaphat or of the Angels – the latter title referring, according to some, to the assumption of Mary accompanied by angels; a better-founded opinion attributes the name to a legend attesting to the singing of angels which had been frequently heard there.