Portable Cross (With an Emphasis on St. Francis)

For the object of beauty instantly I knew what object I would want to do for this assignment. Straightaway my mind went to the ornate and ostentatious objects found in the Catholic Church. So I returned to the Fogg Harvard Art Museum and found what I was looking for: The Portable Cross with Christ with the Virgin, Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Francis imprinted on the front side. On the other side of the Cross the Crucified Christ with the Saints Michael, Paul, Peter, and Louis Toulouse. An object used in the procession of Mass, it is no surprise that this artifact would be created with material such as gold, silver, and crystal materials that would be suitable for the holy and exulted individuals on the cross. They contained images of the divine, righteous human beings were considered the holiest in the Church-thus the most valuable material would be used to make them. The description states that it is tempera, gold and silver on a panel, thus I’m assuming its safe to state that this panel is wooden, thus the double sided cross is a wooden object coated in precious metals. 

An emphasis is placed on Saint Francis in the description of the object, and it appears that it would have been used in a Franciscan monk community. St. Francis was and is to this day a very prominent figure in the Roman Catholic faith. Having attended a Catholic Institution,  I am quite familiar with the works of St. Francis, and am aware that his writings and works have a deep reverence for the faith. Many of his works are prayers and poems that spoke to his spiritual life and reverence for his God. He considered himself to be a "spouse of the Holy Spirit". His writings include "The Prayer of Peace" and "The Prayer" in which he exalts the Lord and essentially patronizes him.  Assuming this was used in Mass, I could only imagine that his poetry, songs and prayers would be used in a procession.