The Chapel of St. Francis is one of the four minor altars in Memorial Church, and is dedicated to the founder of the Franciscan Order in 1209, and of the Mission to the Holy Land in 1219. Since 1219, the guardianship of sacred sites in the Holy Land have been entrusted to the care of the Franciscans, who also oversee the operations of the Monastery and Memorial Church in Washington.

The main marble altar includes a three-panel decoration, consisting of a central wooden sculpture and two bas-relief sculptures. The relief sculpture on the left depicts St. Francis receiving the stigmata, or the marks of the Five Wounds of Christ, while the panel on the right depicts St. Francis blessing Saints Louis of France and Elizabeth of Hungary, who were members of the Royal Order of St. Francis. Both the marble altar and the relief panels are the work of Joseph Earley and Earley Studio, the wooden sculpture is likely by the same unknown artist responsible for the statue of St. Joseph and Jesus in the Chapel of St. Joseph.