Why go
Sylvester connects two parts of Assisi's religious landscape: the cathedral where he served as a canon and the Basilica of Saint Francis, where he is said to be buried near Francis. His story shows how the early fraternity drew in established clergy as well as lay followers.
The full story
Sylvester was an Assisi priest and a canon of the Cathedral of San Rufino. A story about the early Franciscan movement says that he sold bricks to Francis while Francis was repairing chapels around the city. Later he saw Bernard of Quintavalle giving his wealth to the poor and demanded more money for the bricks. He received it, but came to regret his greed. He left his position and joined Francis, becoming the first priest in the small fraternity. The same account places him among those who practised poverty and contemplation with particular strictness. He also prayed with his cousin Clare as Francis sought to discern his path, and sometimes accompanied Francis on preaching journeys. Later stories credit Sylvester's prayers with helping to calm conflict in Arezzo; this is a devotional claim, not a documented effect. He died in Assisi in 1240. Keeping the brick story in mind makes the cathedral and the Franciscan complex part of one human sequence: Sylvester's choice joined institutional church life to an emerging way of living.