St. Francis of Assisi (c1181-1226)
One of the best known and loved of all the saints, Francis was the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi, Umbria. As a young man he was pleasure-loving and frivolous. When he was 20 war broke out with neighboring Perugia and Francis was taken prisoner. After his release he returned to his old way of life but it gradually held less and less attraction for him. Increasingly, he was concerned for the sick and poor.
When Francis was 25 he heard a voice, in the semi-derelict Church of San Damiano, in Assisi, that told him "Repair my falling house." He took the words literally and sold a bale of his father's cloth to pay for building materials. The conflict between father and son that followed resulted in Francis renouncing his inheritance. He put on the dress of a labourer and went away to "wed Lady Poverty."
Two years later he founded the Friars Minor - the Franciscans - with headquarters near Assisi, and in 1210 Pope Innocent III authorized him and 11 companions to be roving preachers. The order was characterized by its joyful and loving worship of God and its vows of poverty.
By 1219 the Franciscan Order numbered 5,000 friars and was rapidly spreading throughout western Europe. In 1221 Francis produced a new version of his Rule which emphasized poverty and humility, and this was approved by Pope Honorius III in 1223.
For the last five years of his life Francis held no official position in his order but exemplified his Rule. Some of the best-known incidents about him belong to these years: the inauguration of the Christmas crib in 1223; his sermon to the birds; and above all, his receiving the stigmata. These five wounds of Christ never left him. His last two years were a time of pain, weakness and finally, blindness. He died welcoming "Lady Death," and was canonized two years later.
A man of exceptional spiritual insight, Francis identified with Christ's suffering; and his words and deeds were tangible expressions of his love for God and all creation - the basis for his patronage of ecologists.
1181 born Assisi, Umbria;
1201 imprisoned by
Perugians;
1207 heard voice in San Damiano
Church;
1209 founded Franciscan Order;
1181 born Assisi, Umbria;
1201 imprisoned by
Perugians;
1207 heard voice in San Damiano
Church;
1209 founded Franciscan Order;
1223 approval of new Rule by Pope Honorius III;
1224 experienced stigmata;
1226 died Portiuncula near Assisi;
1228 canonized
FEAST DAY: 4 October
CULT: Early and widespread
PATRONAGES: Ecologists; Italy; Assisi; animals;
animal welfare societies
EMBLEMS: Birds; deer; stigmata
1223 approval of new Rule by Pope Honorius III;
1224 experienced stigmata;
1226 died Portiuncula near Assisi;
1228 canonized
FEAST DAY: 4 October
CULT: Early and widespread
PATRONAGES: Byrness Church; Ecologists; Italy; Assisi; animals;
animal welfare societies
EMBLEMS: Birds; deer; stigmata