Guest Author - Linda J. Paul

Of all the Saints, St. Francis is by far my favorite. I think that he crosses all boundaries of religion in his love of animals and nature, and his compassion and kindness toward all, regardless of race, creed or religion. Here is his story.

Giovanni di Bernadone was born in 1182 in Assisi, Italy to Pietro and Pica Bourlemont. His father was away at his birth and his mother named him in honor of John the Evangelist. Her dream was that he would grow up to be a religious leader. His father, on the other hand, did not wish his son to be a priest. He called him Francesco (Pica was French and the name was in tribute to her French ancestry.)

Francis’s father was a rich and famous businessman, and Francis was one of his several children. Even from a young age Francis hated his father’s business and interest only in money. But, that money did provide him with an excellent education, and he excelled at language, becoming fluent in several.

His other interests, however, were not as scholarly. He drank excessively with his friends who were generally of noble descent. But he was also known for his generosity and endured his father’s wrath on more than one occasion when he gave money to beggars. He joined the military in 1201, and was taken prisoner at Collestrana, where he spent as year in captivity. After his subsequent return to Assisi in 1203, he resumed his prior pursuits of drunken rowdiness. In 1204, he was stricken with a serious illness which resulted in a crisis of spirit. He reenlisted in the military in 1205, but on his way to his battalion, he had a vision which told him to return to Assisi. This lead to a deepening of his spiritual quest.

Francis soon lost interest in the merry making of his friends, and started to spend time in prayer instead, asking God for enlightenment, and nursing the lepers in Assisi, all of which culminated in a pilgrimage to Rome. He spent his time there at the church, begging for the poor. After his return once again to Assisi, at the Church of San Damiano, he had another vision in which Christ came to him and said three times, “ Francis, Francis, go and repair my house, which, as you can see, is falling into ruins.” Taking the words literally, Francis ignored his father’s wrath once again, even to the point of his father chastising him in public. Francis renounced his father, and laying aside all possessions of his past life, he lived as a beggar in Assisi. In time, he kept his promise to Christ and repaired several ruined churches near Assisi, including St Mary of the Angels, which became his favorite church.

In 1209, Francis heard a sermon that totally changed his life. The sermon was from Matthew and Christ’s command that his followers should go forth and proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven was upon them, and that they should take no belongings with them, even shoes. This inspired Francis to devote his life entirely to the a life of preaching and poverty. Dressed in a ragged garment and barefoot, he started to preach about repentance. After a year of preaching he had gained eleven companions who followed in his footsteps.

Francis led a humble life and chose not to be ordained as a priest. He and his followers lived as fratres minores, or lesser brothers in English. That is where the term Franciscans come from, as well as the word Friar, which means brother.
The Franciscans lived a simple life, wandering through the nearby districts singing and preaching redemption of the soul. During that year, Francis and his followers journeyed to Rome, and asked the Pope for permission to found a new religious order. Pope Innocent III at first refused, but had a dream the following night that the church was crumbling and a poor man was holding it up. He recognized the man in the dream as Francis and gave his approval for the founding of the new order.

The order grew quickly and was joined by Clare of Assisi. In 1211, Francis and Clare established the Order of Poor Dames, which was later changed to Poor Clares.
In 1214 he was given the Mountain of Verna as a gift, and it soon became his favorite retreat. By 1217, the order had grown to the point that the Friars were went to France, Germany, Hungary and Spain.

Francis’s pilgrimage led him to Egypt, Jerusalem, Palestine, and Venice, during which time his order was awarded final approval by Pope Honorius III.

While praying on the mountain of Verna in 1223, he saw the vision of an angel on a cross, who gave him the gift of the wounds of Christ. This was the first known account of the stigmata. But, this information was not made public until after his death.

However, the stigmata was most likely part of what caused his death. Sick and weak he was at last brought back to his home. He spent the last days of his life dictating his spiritual testimony. He died on Oct. 4, 1226, singing Psalm 141.

On July 16, 1228, he was pronounced a saint by Pope Gregory IX, and the Basilica of St. Francis was constructed in his honor.

St. Francis of Assisi is a patron saint of animals and nature. The stories of his life show his love and humility toward both. Francis considered animals to be his brothers and sisters and they in turn responded by allowing him to come near to them without running or attacking. This love of nature in all of it’s forms is expressed in his poem Canticle of the Sun and also in Prayer for Peace.