Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
(Mt 5:1)

St. Francis was born in 1182 amidst the hill of Umbria, central Italy, in the town of Assisi. His father, Pietro di Bernardone, was a rich cloth merchant and his mother was Pica.

This was the Age of Chivalry, courtly love, knights in armor, feudal wars and the Crusades. Young Francis was bent on having a good time and dreamed of becoming a knight.

Courtly Love Music expressed by Guillaume de Machaut

In 1204 Francis set out from Assisi to join the Fourth Crusade but during a sleepless night in Spoleto he had a dream where he saw a hall full of colored banners and a voice say, "Francis, who is it better to serve, the master or the servant." He answered, "The Master". The voice said, "God back to Assisi and all this will be yours." (Website: Francis of Assisi) And so he returned to Assisi.

Now Francis began to get bored with his parting and spent more time roaming the countryside. One day he met a leper, dismounted from his horse, gave him money and embraced him.

On another day he found himself in the semi-abandoned church of San Damiano just below Assisi where there was a Byzantine image of the crucified Christ. He fixed his gaze upon the Crucifix and he heard Christ telling him to fix his church. Believing that Christ meant San Damiano, he went home, took a bale of expensive cloth and sold it. He than offered the money to the priest of San Damiano, but the priest refused. His father was enraged and brought Francis before the bishop who told him to return the money. Francis gave the money to his father, took off his clothes and gave them to his father stating, "From now on ... I can turn to God and call him my Father in heaven." And so, while living with the priest of San Damiano, went begging for stones and repaired the Church.

The Last Church Francis repaired was the Porziuncola (Our Lady of the Angels) which today is preserved inside a lager church in the Umbrian plains below Assisi. Here he began to gather men who wanted to live his ideal of poverty.

In this church on Feb. 24, 1208, the feast of St. Mathias, during Mass he heard the gospel in which Christ is sanding the apostles to preach barefoot and without staff of wallet. From this time he changed from a penitent hermit to a preacher sending his followers here and there to preach the good news.

In 1211 at the Porziuncola, Frances cut off the golden tresses of Clare at the foot of the altar of the Virgin Mary as a sign of her dedication to God.

St. Francis held his annual meeting with his followers at the Porziuncola using the surrounding area as a camp site. In time St. Frances went to Rome and asked Innocent III to approve his simple way of life. It is said that the Pope had a dream where he saw Francis holding the Church on his shoulders. The Pope saw in Francis an instrument of Church Reform verbally approved his rule of life.

On Saturday, October 3, 1226 Francis died at the Ponziuncola.

Francis more than any other saint lived in harmony with the realm of nature as we can see in his "Canticle to the Sun." We apprehend this more clearly in the account of his encounter with the wolf of Gubbio. The people of Gubbio were afraid of a wolf in the vicinity which had killed not only animals but also human beings. Francis with some followers went out of Gubbio where they met the wolf coming toward them in a threatening posture. Francis made the sign of the cross toward the wolf. The wolf closed its mouth and slowed down. Then Francis called out, "Come to me, Brother wolf. In the name of Christ I order you not to harm anyone." The wolf came to lay at his feet. Francis continued, "Brother wolf, I want you to make peace between you and the people of Gubbio. They will harm you no more and you must no longer harm them. All past crimes are to be forgiven."Francis extended his hand and the wolf placed its paw in his hand. From that day the people of Gubbio fed the wolf which died two years later of old age. The people of Gubbio were sad because the wolf reminded them of God's power and holiness in their lives. (Website: Stories about St. Frances and the animals.) In 1980 Pope John Paul II proclaimed St. Francis Patron of Ecology.

On August 15 1224 Frances retreated to pray and fast on Mount La Verna. Here on Sept. 14, Frances had a mystical vision of a crucified seraph and received the marks of the passion of Christ. Felix Timmermans describes the even thus:

"Then suddenly streams of fire and blood shot from His wounds and pierced the hands and feet of Francis with nails and his heart with the stab of a lance. As Francis uttered a mighty shout of joy and pain, the fiery image impressed itself into his body, as into a mirrored reflection of itself, with all its love, its beauty, and its grief. And it vanished within him. Another cry pierced the air. Then, with nails and wounds through his body, and with his soul and spirit aflame, Francis sank down, unconscious, in his blood."(Webpage: CIN-St. Francis Receives the Stigmata)

Mary's Nativity