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Francis of Assisi

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Religious figures and
leaders

          "Saint Francis of Assisi", "St. Francis of Assisi" and "St
          Francis of Assisi" all redirect here. For the opera by Olivier
          Messiaen see Saint-François d'Assise.

   Saint Francis of Assisi
   El Greco, Saint Francis in Prayer, 1580 – 85, oil on canvas, 115.5 x
   103 cm. Joslyn Art Museum
   Confessor
   Born 1182 in Assisi, Italy
   Died 3 October 1226 in Porziuncola, Assisi
   Venerated in Roman Catholicism
   Canonized 16 July 1228
   Major shrine Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi
   Feast 4 October
   Attributes Dove, Stigmata, poor Franciscan vestments, cross, Pax et
   Bonum
   Patronage animals, merchants, Italy, Meycauayan, Philippines, Catholic
   Action, the environment, Cub Scouts
   Prayer for Animals

   God Our Heavenly Father, You created the world to serve humanity's
   needs and to lead them to You. By our own fault we have lost the
   beautiful relationship which we once had with all your creation. Help
   us to see that by restoring our relationship with You we will also
   restore it with all Your creation. Give us the grace to see all animals
   as gifts from You and to treat them with respect for they are Your
   creation. We pray for all animals who are suffering as a result of our
   neglect. May the order You originally established be once again
   restored to the whole world through the intercession of the Glorious
   Virgin Mary, the prayers of Saint Francis and the merits of Your Son,
   Our Lord Jesus Christ Who lives and reigns with You now and forever.
   Amen.
   Saint Francis of Assisi
   Saints Portal

   Saint Francis of Assisi ( 1182 – October 3, 1226) founded the
   Franciscan Order or "Friars Minor".

Boyhood and early manhood

   Francis was born in 1182 in Assisi, Italy, to Pietro di Bernardone, a
   prominent businessman, and his wife Pica Bourlemont, about whom little
   is known except that she was originally from France. He was one of
   several children. Pietro was in France on business when Francis was
   born, and Pica had him baptized as Giovanni di Bernardone in honour of
   Saint John the Evangelist, in the hope he would grow to be a great
   religious leader. When his father returned to Assisi, he was furious
   about this, as he did not want his son to be a man of the Church.
   Pietro decided to call him Francesco (Francis), in honour of his French
   wife and for his interest in France.

   Rebellious toward his father's business and pursuit of wealth, Francis
   spent most of his youth lost in books (ironically, his father's wealth
   did afford his son an excellent education, and he became fluent in
   reading several languages including Latin). He was also known for
   drinking and enjoying the company of his many friends, who were usually
   the sons of nobles. His displays of disillusionment toward the world
   that surrounded him became evident fairly early, one of which is shown
   in the story of the beggar. In this account, he found himself out
   having fun with his friends one day when a beggar came along and asked
   for alms. While his friends ignored the beggar's cries, Francis gave
   the man everything he had in his pockets. His friends quickly chided
   and mocked him for his stupidity, and when he got home, his father
   scolded him in a rage.

   In 1201 he joined a military expedition against Perugia, was taken
   prisoner at Collestrana, and spent a year as a captive. It is probable
   that his conversion to more serious thoughts was a gradual process
   relating to this experience. After his return to Assisi in 1203,
   Francis recommenced his carefree life. But in 1204 a serious illness
   started a spiritual crisis. In 1205 Francis left for Puglia to enlist
   in the army of Gualtiero di Brienne. But on his way, in Spoleto, a
   strange vision made him return to Assisi, deepening his spiritual
   crisis.

   It is said that when he began to avoid the sports and the feasts of his
   former companions, and they asked him laughingly if he was thinking of
   marrying, he answered "yes, a fairer bride than any of you have ever
   seen" – meaning his "lady poverty", as he afterward used to say. He
   spent much time in lonely places, asking God for enlightenment. By
   degrees he took to nursing lepers, the most repulsive victims in the
   lazar houses near Assisi. After a pilgrimage to Rome, where he begged
   at the church doors for the poor, he had a mystical experience in the
   Church of San Damiano just outside of Assisi, in which the Icon of
   Christ Crucified came alive and said to him three times, "Francis,
   Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into
   ruins." He thought this to mean the very ruined church in which he was
   presently praying, and so sold his horse together with some cloth from
   his father's store, to assist the priest there for this purpose.
   Renunciation of Wordly Goods, attributed to Giotto di Bondone
   Enlarge
   Renunciation of Wordly Goods, attributed to Giotto di Bondone

   Pietro, highly indignant, attempted to bring him to his senses, first
   with threats and then with corporal chastisement. After a final
   interview in the presence of the bishop, Francis renounced his father
   and his patrimony, laying aside even the garments he had received from
   him. For the next few months he lived as a beggar in the region of
   Assisi. Returning to the town where he spent two years this time, he
   restored several ruined churches, among them the Porziuncola, little
   chapel of St Mary of the Angels, just outside the town, which later
   became his favorite abode.

The founding of the Order of Friars Minor

   St. Francis of Assisi in Sacro Speco, Subiaco, Italy
   Enlarge
   St. Francis of Assisi in Sacro Speco, Subiaco, Italy

   At the end of this period (according to Jordanus, on February 24,
   1209), Francis heard a sermon that changed his life. The sermon was
   about Matthew 10:9, in which Christ tells his followers that they
   should go forth and proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven was upon them,
   that they should take no money with them, nor even a walking stick or
   shoes for the road. Francis was inspired to devote himself wholly to a
   life of apostolic poverty.

   Clad in a rough garment, barefoot, and, after the Evangelical precept,
   without staff or scrip, he began to preach repentance. He was soon
   joined by his first follower, a prominent fellow townsman, the jurist
   Bernardo di Quintavalle, who contributed all that he had to the work.
   Many other companions joined Francis, and reached the number of eleven
   within a year. In his humility Francis chose never to be ordained a
   priest, and the community lived as "fratres minores", in Latin, "lesser
   brothers". The Franciscans are sometimes called Friars Minor, a term
   derived from "fratres", in Latin, "brothers".

   The brothers lived a simple life in the deserted lazar house of Rivo
   Torto near Assisi; but they spent much of their time wandering through
   the mountainous districts of Umbria, always cheerful and full of songs,
   yet making a deep impression on their hearers by their earnest
   exhortations.

   In 1209 Francis led his first 11 followers to Rome to seek permission
   from Pope Innocent III to found a new religious order. At first his
   attempt to speak with the Pope was refused; but the following night,
   Innocent saw in a dream the church was crumbling apart and a poor man
   appearing to hold it up. The next morning, recalling the poor man he
   had refused the day before, he recognized him as the man he saw in his
   dream, and decided to change his verdict the following day.

Later life

   From then on his new order grew quickly with new vocations. When
   hearing Francis preaching in the church of San Rufino in Assisi in
   1209, Clare of Assisi became deeply touched by his message and she
   realized her calling. Her brother Rufino also joined the new order.
   the Porziuncola
   Enlarge
   the Porziuncola

   On Palm Sunday, 28 March 1211 Francis received Clare at the Porziuncola
   and hereby established the Order of Poor Dames, later called Poor
   Clares. In the same year, Francis left for Jerusalem, but he was
   shipwrecked by a storm on the Dalmatian coast, forcing him to return to
   Italy.

   On 8 May 1213 he received the mountain of Verna as a gift from the
   count Orlando di Chiusi. This mountain would become one of his favorite
   retreats for prayer. In the same year, Francis sailed for Morocco, but
   this time an illness forced him to break off his journey in Spain. Back
   in Assisi, several noblemen (among them Tommaso da Celano, who would
   later write the biography of St. Francis) and some well-educated men
   joined his order.

   In 1215 Francis went again to Rome for the Fourth Lateran Council.
   During this time, he probably met Dominic de Guzman.

   In 1216 Francis received from the new pope Honorius III the
   confirmation of the indulgence of the Porziuncola, now better known as
   the Pardon of Assisi : a complete remission of their sins for all those
   who prayed in the Porziuncola.

   In 1217 the growing congregation of friars was divided in provinces and
   groups were sent to France, Germany, Hungary, Spain and to the East.
   St. Francis before the Sultan - the trial by fire (fresco attributed to
   Giotto)
   Enlarge
   St. Francis before the Sultan - the trial by fire (fresco attributed to
   Giotto)

   In 1219 Francis left, together with a few companions, for Egypt.
   Received by the sultan Melek-el-Kamel, Francis challenged the Muslim
   scholars to a test of true religion by fire; but they retreated. When
   Francis proposed to enter the fire first and, if he left the fire
   unharmed, the sultan would have to recognize Christ as the true God,
   the sultan allowed him to preach to his subjects. At Saint Jean d'Acre,
   the capital of what remained of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, he rejoined
   the brothers Elia and Pietro Cattini. Francis then most probably
   visited the holy places in Palestine in 1220.

   Around 1220 St Francis of Assisi celebrated Christmas by setting up the
   first presepio or crèche in the town of Greccio near Assisi. He used
   real animals to create a living scene so that the worshippers could
   contemplate the birth of the child Jesus in a direct way, making use of
   the senses, especially sight.

   When receiving a report of the martyrdom of five brothers in Morocco,
   he returned to Italy via Venice. Cardinal Ugolino di Conti was then
   nominated by the Pope as the protector of the order. When problems
   arose in the order, a detailed rule became necessary. On 29 September
   1220 Francis handed over the governance of the order to brother Pietro
   Cattini at the Porziuncola. However, brother Cattini died on 10 March
   1221. He was buried in the Porziuncola. But when numerous miracles
   occurred which were attributed to the late Pietro Cattini, people
   started to flock to the Porziuncola, disturbing the daily life of the
   Franciscans. Francis then prayed to Pietro to stop the miracles and
   obey in death as he had obeyed him during his life. From that moment
   the miracles ceased. Brother Pietro was succeeded by brother Elia as
   vicar of Francis.

   During 1221 and 1222 Francis crossed Italy, first as far south as
   Catania in Sicily and afterwards as far north as Bologna.

   On 29 November 1223 the final rule of the order (in 12 chapters) was
   approved by Pope Honorius III.
   St. Francis receives the Stigmata (fresco attributed to Giotto)
   Enlarge
   St. Francis receives the Stigmata (fresco attributed to Giotto)

   While he was praying on the mountain of Verna, during a forty day fast
   for Lent, Francis received the Stigmata on 13 September 1224, the Feast
   of the Exaltation of the Cross. Suddenly he saw a vision of a seraph, a
   six-winged angel on a cross. This angel gave him the gift of the five
   wounds of Christ. This is the first known account of the stigmata.
   However, no one knew about this occurrence until after his death, when
   Thomas told a crowd of Franciscans that he had witnessed this account.

   Suffering from these Stigmata and from an eye disease, he had been
   receiving care in several cities ( Siena, Cortona, Nocera) to no avail.
   In the end he was brought back to the Porziuncola. He was brought to
   the transito, the hut for infirm friars, next to the Porziuncola. Here,
   in the place where it all began, feeling the end approaching, he spent
   the last days of his life dictating his spiritual testament. He died on
   the evening of 4 October 1226 singing Psalm 141.

   On 16 July 1228 he was pronounced a saint by the next pope Gregory IX,
   the former cardinal Ugolino di Conti, friend and protector of St.
   Francis. The next day, the pope laid the foundation stone for the
   Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.

Saint Francis, nature, and the environment

   A garden statue of Francis of Assisi with birds
   Enlarge
   A garden statue of Francis of Assisi with birds

   Many of the stories that surround the life of St Francis deal with his
   love for animals. Perhaps the most famous incident that illustrates the
   Saint’s humility towards nature is recounted in the Vigina (The Little
   Flowers), a collection of legends and folk-lore that sprang up after
   the saint’s death. It is said that one day while Francis was traveling
   with some companions they happened upon a place in the road where birds
   filled the trees on either side. Francis told his companions to “wait
   for me while I go a preach to my sisters the birds.” The birds
   surrounded him, drawn by the power of his voice, and not one of them
   flew away. Francis spoke to them:

          “My sister birds, you owe much to God, and you must always and
          in everyplace give praise to Him; for He has given you freedom
          to wing through the sky and He has clothed you…you neither sow
          nor reap, and God feeds you and gives you rivers and fountains
          for your thirst, and mountains and valleys for shelter, and tall
          trees for your nests. And although you neither know how to spin
          or weave, God dresses you and your children, for the Creator
          loves you greatly and He blesses you abundantly. Therefore…
          always seek to praise God.”

   Another legend from the Fioretti tells us that in the city of Gubbio,
   where Francis lived for some time, there was a wolf “terrifying and
   ferocious, who devoured men as well as animals.” Francis had compassion
   upon the townsfolk, and went up into the hills to find the wolf. Soon
   fear of the animal had caused all his companions to flee, but the saint
   pressed on and when he found the wolf he made the sign of the cross and
   commanded the wolf to come to him and hurt no one. Miraculously the
   wolf closed his jaws and lay down at the feet of St. Francis. “Brother
   Wolf, you do much harm in these parts and you have done great evil…”
   said Francis. “All these people accuse you and curse you…But brother
   wolf, I would like to make peace between you and the people.” Then
   Francis led the wolf into the town, and surrounded by startled citizens
   he made a pact between them and the wolf. Because the wolf had “done
   evil out of hunger” the townsfolk were to feed the wolf regularly, and
   in return, the wolf would no longer prey upon them or their flocks. In
   this manner Gubbio was freed from the menace of the predator. Francis,
   ever the lover of animals, even makes a pact on behalf of the town
   dogs, that they will not bother the wolf again.

   These legends exemplify the Franciscan mode of charity and poverty as
   well as the saint's love of the natural world. Part of his appreciation
   of the environment is expressed in his Canticle of the Sun, a poem
   written in Umbrian Italian in perhaps 1224 which expresses a love and
   appreciation of Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Mother Earth, Brother Fire,
   etc. and all of God's creations personified in their fundamental
   forms..

   However, the academic establishment agrees that Francis actually had a
   rather conventional attitude towards his worldly environment. He did
   believe that the external world was inherently good as a sign and
   revelation of God's providence and goodness, its purpose being to
   inspire our respect and love, but this was not an unusual philosophy in
   the thirteenth century. More remarkable is his belief in the universal
   ability and duty of all creatures to praise God.

Main writings by St. Francis

     * Canticum Fratris Solis, the Canticle to Brother Sun.
     * Prayer before the Crucifix, 1205 (extant in the original Umbrian
       dialect as well as in a contemporary Latin translation).
     * Regula non bullata, the Earlier Rule, 1221.
     * Regula bullata, the Later Rule, 1223.
     * Testament, 1226.
     * Admonitions.

   For a complete list, see .

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