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| {{dablink|"Saint Francis of Assisi", "St. Francis of Assisi" and "St Francis of Assisi" all redirect here. For the opera by Olivier Messiaen see ].}} | |||
| {{Infobox Saint | |||
| |name= Saint Francis of Assisi | |||
| |birth_date= ] or ]<ref name="cefa"> | |||
| {{cite encyclopedia | |||
| | last = Robinson | |||
| | first = Paschal | |||
| | title = St. Francis of Assisi | |||
| | encyclopedia = The Catholic Encyclopedia | |||
| | volume = VI | |||
| | publisher = Robert Appleton Company | |||
| | place = ] | |||
| | date = 09/01/1909 | |||
| | url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06221a.htm | |||
| | accessdate = 01/21/2008}} | |||
| </ref> | |||
| |death_date={{death date and age|1226|10|3|1181|9|26|df=y}}<ref name="cefa"/> | |||
| |feast_day=] | |||
| |venerated_in=] | |||
| |image= Francisbyelgreco.jpg | |||
| |imagesize=200px | |||
| |caption=], ''Saint Francis in Prayer'', 1580–85, oil on canvas, 115.5 x 103 cm. ] | |||
| |birth_place=], ] | |||
| |death_place=], Assisi | |||
| |titles= Confessor; Renewer of the church | |||
| |beatified_date= | |||
| |beatified_place= | |||
| |beatified_by= | |||
| |canonized_date=], ] | |||
| |canonized_place=] | |||
| |canonized_by=] | |||
| |attributes=], ], poor Franciscan habit, cross, Pax et Bonum | |||
| |patronage=], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]s<ref name="chest126"/> | |||
| |major_shrine=] | |||
| |suppressed_date= | |||
| |issues= | |||
| |prayer= '''Prayer for Animals''' | |||
| ] 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. | |||
| |prayer_attrib=Saint Francis of Assisi♥ | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Saint Francis of Assisi''' (], ] – ], ]) was a ] ] and the founder of the ], more commonly known as the Franciscans. | |||
| He is known as the ] of animals, birds, and the environment, and it is customary for Catholic churches to hold ceremonies honoring animals around his ] of October 4.<ref name="dukemag">{{cite web |url= http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/111206/depobs.html|title= Blessing All Creatures, Great and Small|accessdate=2007-07-30 |publisher= ''Duke Magazine''|date= 2006-11}}</ref> | |||
| <!--]--> | |||
| ==Childhood and early adulthood== | |||
| Francis was born to Pietro di Bernardone, a prominent businessman, and his wife Pica Bourlemont, about whom little is known except that she was originally from ].<ref name="Chesterton"> | |||
| {{Citation | |||
| | last = Chesterton | |||
| | first = Gilbert Keith | |||
| | author-link = G. K. Chesterton | |||
| | title = St. Francis of Assisi | |||
| | place = ] | |||
| | publisher = Image Books | |||
| | year = 1924 | |||
| | edition = 14 | |||
| | pages = 158 | |||
| }} | |||
| </ref> He was one of seven children.<ref name="Chesterton"/> Pietro was in France on business when Francis was born, and Pica had him ] as '''Giovanni di Bernardone'''<ref name="dukemag"/> in honor of Saint ], in the hope he would grow to be a great religious leader.<ref name="Chesterton"/> 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 honor of his commercial success and enthusiasm for all things French.<ref name="Chesterton"/> | |||
| As a youth he became a ] and yearned to become a writer of French poetry.<ref name="cefa"/><ref name="Chesterton"/> Although many biographers remark about his bright clothing, rich friends, and love of pleasure, his displays of disillusionment toward the world that surrounded him became fairly early, one of which is shown in the story of the beggar.<ref name="chest41">Chesterton(1924), pp.40-41</ref> In this account, he was selling cloth and velvet in the marketplace on behalf of his father when a beggar came along and asked for ].<ref name="chest41"/> At the conclusion of his business deal, he abandoned his wares and ran after the beggar.<ref name="chest41"/> When he found him, Francis gave the man everything he had in his pockets.<ref name="chest41"/> His friends quickly chided and mocked him for his act of charity, and when he got home, his father scolded him in rage.<ref name="chest41"/> | |||
| In 1201, he joined a military expedition against ], he was taken as a prisoner at ], and spent a year as a captive.<ref name="cefa"/><ref name="Bonaventure"> | |||
| {{Citation | |||
| | author1 = Bonaventure | |||
| | author2 = Cardinal Manning | |||
| | author-link = Bonaventure | |||
| | title = The Life of St. Francis of Assisi | |||
| | place = ] | |||
| | publisher = TAN Books & Publishers | |||
| | isbn = 978-0895553430 | |||
| | year = 1867 | |||
| | edition = 1988 | |||
| | pages = 190 | |||
| }} | |||
| </ref> 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 ] to enlist in the army of the ]. But on his way, in ], a strange vision made him return to Assisi, deepening his spiritual crisis.<ref name="cefa"/> | |||
| ]]] | |||
| It is said that when he began to avoid the ]s 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 ]", as he afterward used to say.<ref name="cefa"/> He spent much time in lonely places, asking God for ]. By degrees he took to nursing lepers, the most repulsive victims in the ]s near ].<ref name="cefa"/> After a ]age to ], where he begged at the church doors for the poor, he claimed to have had a mystical experience in the Church of ] just outside of Assisi, in which the ] came alive and said to him three times, "Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins."<ref name="cefa"/><ref name="chest54">Chesterton(1924), pp.54-56</ref><ref name="chest54"/> 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.<ref name = "cefa"/><ref name="chest54"/> | |||
| His father Pietro, highly indignant, attempted to bring him to his senses, first with threats and then with corporal chastisement.<ref name="chest54"/> After a final interview in the presence of the ], Francis renounced his father and his patrimony, laying aside even the garments he had received from him.<ref name="chest54"/> For the next couple of months he lived as a beggar in the region of Assisi. Returning to the town for two years this time, he restored several ruined churches, among them the ], little ] of ], just outside the town, which later became his favorite abode.<ref name="chest54"/> | |||
| ==The founding of the Order of Friars Minor== | |||
| ], Subiaco, Italy]] | |||
| At the end of this period (according to ], on ], ]), Francis heard a ] that changed his life. The sermon was about ] 10:9, in which Christ tells his followers that they should go forth and proclaim that the ] was upon them, that they should take no money with them, nor even a walking stick or shoes for the road.<ref name="cefa"/> Francis was inspired to devote himself to a life of poverty.<ref name="cefa"/> | |||
| Clad in a rough garment, barefoot, and, after the Evangelical precept, without staff or ], he began to preach repentance.<ref name="cefa"/> He was soon joined by his first follower, a prominent fellow townsman, the ] ], who contributed all that he had to the work. Within a year Francis had eleven followers. Francis chose never to be ordained a priest and the community lived as "lesser brothers," ''fratres minores'' in Latin.<ref name="cefa"/> | |||
| The brothers lived a ] in the deserted ] house of Rivo Torto near Assisi; but they spent much of their time wandering through the mountainous districts of ], always cheerful and full of songs, yet making a deep impression on their hearers by their earnest exhortations.<ref name="cefa"/> | |||
| In 1209 Francis led his first eleven followers to Rome to seek permission from ] to found a new religious order.<ref name="chest107">Chesterton(1924), pp.107-108</ref> At first his attempt to speak with the Pope was refused.<ref name="chest107"/> The following night, however, Innocent dreamt of a poor man holding up a crumbling church.<ref name="cefa"/> The next morning, he recognized the man in the dream as the poor man he had refused the previous day, and reversed his decision.<ref name="chest107"/> | |||
| ==Later life== | |||
| From then on, his new order grew quickly with new vocations.<ref name="chest110">Chesterton(1924), pp.110-111</ref> When hearing Francis preaching in the church of ] in Assisi in 1209, ] became deeply touched by his message and she realized her calling.<ref name="chest110"/> Her brother Rufino also joined the new order. | |||
| ] | |||
| On ], ] ] Francis received Clare at the Porziuncola and hereby established the Order of Poor Dames, later called ].<ref name="chest110"/> In the same year, Francis left for Jerusalem, but he was shipwrecked by a storm on the ]n coast, forcing him to return to Italy. | |||
| On ] ] he received the mountain of ] (Alverna) as a gift from the count ] who described it as “eminently suitable for whoever wishes to do penance in a place remote from mankind.”<ref>Fioretti quoted in: St. Francis, The Little Flowers, Legends, and Lauds, trans. N. Wydenbruck, ed. Otto Karrer (London: Sheed and Ward, 1979) 244.</ref><ref name="chest130">Chesterton(1924), p.130</ref> The mountain would become one of his favorite retreats for prayer.<ref name="chest130">Chesterton(1924), p.130</ref> In the same year, Francis sailed for ], but this time an illness forced him to break off his journey in ]. Back in Assisi, several noblemen (among them ], 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 ]. During this time, he probably met ].<ref name="chest126">Chesterton(1924), p.126</ref> | |||
| In 1216 Francis received from the new pope ] the confirmation of the indulgence of the Porziuncola, now better known as the ''Pardon of Assisi'' : which the Pope decreed to be 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, ], ], Spain and to the East. | |||
| ])]] | |||
| In 1219 Francis left, together with a few companions, on a pilgrimage of non-violence to ]. Crossing the lines between the sultan and the ]s in ], he was received by the sultan ].<ref></ref><ref name="chest126"/> Francis challenged the Muslim scholars to a test of true religion by fire; but they retreated.<ref name="chest126"/> 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 was so impressed that he allowed him to preach to his subjects.<ref name="chest126"/><ref></ref> Though he didn't succeed in converting the sultan, the last words of the sultan to Francis of Assisi were, according to ], ], in his book "Historia occidentalis, De Ordine et praedicatione Fratrum Minorum (1221)" : “Pray for me that God may deign to reveal to me that law and faith which is most pleasing to him.”.<ref></ref> | |||
| At ], the capital of what remained of the ], he rejoined the brothers Elia and ]. Francis then most probably visited the holy places in ] in 1220. | |||
| Although nativity drawings and paintings existed earlier, St Francis of Assisi celebrated Christmas by setting up the first known three-dimensional ''presepio'' or ''crèche'' (]) in the town of Greccio near Assisi, around 1220.<ref name="b178">Bonaventure (1867), pp.178</ref> He used real animals to create a living scene so that the worshipers could contemplate the birth of the child Jesus in a direct way, making use of the senses, especially sight.<ref name="b178"/> Thomas of Celano, a biographer of Francis and ] both tell how he only used a straw-filled manger (feeding trough) set between a real ox and donkey.<ref name="b178"/> According to Thomas, it was beautiful in its simplicity with the manger acting as the altar for the Christmas Mass. | |||
| When receiving a report of the martyrdom of five brothers in Morocco, he returned to Italy via ].<ref name="b162">Bonaventure (1867), pp.162</ref> Cardinal ] was then nominated by the Pope as the protector of the order. When problems arose in the order, a detailed rule became necessary. On ] ] Francis handed over the governance of the order to brother Pietro Cattini at the Porziuncola. However, Brother Cattini died on ] ]. He was buried in the Porziuncola. But when numerous miracles were attributed to the late Pietro Cattini, people started to flock to the Porziuncola, disturbing the daily life of the Franciscans. Francis then prayed, asking Pietro to stop the miracles and obey in death as he had obeyed him during his life. The report of 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 ] in Sicily and afterwards as far north as ]. | |||
| On ] ] the final rule of the order (in twelve chapters) was approved by Pope Honorius III. | |||
| ])]] | |||
| While he was praying on the mountain of Verna, during a forty day fast in preparation for Michaelmas, Francis is said to have had a vision on or about ], ], the Feast of the ], as a result of which he received the ].<ref name="chest131"/> Brother Leo, who had been with Francis at the time, left a clear and simple account of the event, the first definite account of the phenomenon of stigmata.<ref name="cefa"/><ref name="chest131"/> "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."<ref name="chest131">Chesterton(1924), p.131</ref> | |||
| Suffering from these Stigmata and from an eye disease, he had been receiving care in several cities (], ], ]) 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 ] ] singing ] 141. His feast day is observed ]. | |||
| On ], ] he was pronounced a saint by the next pope ], the former cardinal Ugolino di Conti, friend and protector of St. Francis. The next day, the pope laid the foundation stone for the ] in Assisi. | |||
| St. Francis is considered the first Italian poet by literary critics. He believed commoners should be able to pray to God in their own language, and he wrote always in dialect of Umbria instead of Latin. His writings are considered to have great literary value, as well as religious. | |||
| ==Saint Francis, nature, and the environment== | |||
| ] | |||
| Many of the stories that surround the life of St Francis deal with his love for animals.<ref name="b78">Bonaventure (1867), pp.78-85</ref> Perhaps the most famous incident that illustrates the Saint’s humility towards nature is recounted in the 'Fioretti' (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 to preach to my sisters the birds".<ref name="b78"/> The birds surrounded him, drawn by the power of his voice, and not one of them flew away. Francis spoke to them: | |||
| <blockquote>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.</blockquote> | |||
| {{main|Wolf of Gubbio}} | |||
| Another legend from the '']'' tells us that in the city of ], where Francis lived for some time, there was a ] “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 made a pact on behalf of the town dogs, that they would 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.<ref name="b67">Bonaventure (1867), pp.67-68</ref> Part of his appreciation of the environment is expressed in his '']'', 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. In "Canticle of the Creatures," he wrote: "All praise to you, Oh Lord, for all these brother and sister creatures."<ref name="dukemag"/> | |||
| Francis's attitude towards the natural world, while poetically expressed, was conventionally Christian.<ref name="Lives"> | |||
| {{Citation | |||
| | last = Englebert | |||
| | first = Omer | |||
| | title = The Lives of the Saints | |||
| | place = ] | |||
| | publisher = Barnes & Noble | |||
| | isbn = 978-1566195164 | |||
| | year = 1951 | |||
| | pages = 529 | |||
| }} | |||
| </ref> He believed that the world was created good and beautiful by God but suffers a need for redemption because of the primordial sin of man. He preached to man and beast the universal ability and duty of all creatures to praise God (a common theme in the Psalms) and the duty of men to protect and enjoy nature as both the stewards of God's creation and as creatures ourselves.<ref name="b78"/> | |||
| Legend has it that St. Francis on his deathbed thanked his donkey for carrying and helping him throughout his life, and his donkey wept. | |||
| ==Main sources for the life of Saint Francis== | |||
| ] | |||
| *Friar Elias, ''Epistola Encyclica de Transitu Sancti Francisci'', 1226. | |||
| *Pope Gregory IX, Bulla "Mira circa nos" for the canonization of St. Francis, ] ]. | |||
| *Friar ]: ''Vita Prima Sancti Francisci'', 1228; ''Vita Secunda Sancti Francisci'', 1246 – 1247; ''Tractatus de Miraculis Sancti Francisci'', 1252 – 1253. | |||
| *Friar ], ''Vita Sancti Francisci'', 1232 – 1239. | |||
| *St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, ''Legenda Maior Sancti Francisci'', 1260 – 1263. | |||
| *Ugolino da Montegiorgio, ''Actus Beati Francisci et sociorum eius'', 1327 – 1342. | |||
| *''Fioretti di San Francesco'', the "]", end of the 14th century: an anonymous Italian version of the ''Actus''; the most popular of the sources, but very late and therefore not the best authority by any means. | |||
| For an exhaustive list of sources, see . | |||
| ==Main writings by St. Francis== | |||
| *''Canticum Fratris Solis'' or ''Laudes Creaturarum'', ]. | |||
| *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. | |||
| *''The Little Flowers of Saint Francis (Translated by Raphael Brown)'', ], 1998. ISBN 978-0-385-07544-2 | |||
| For a complete list, see . | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
| *], lay organization related to Franciscan hospitality in the Holy Land. | |||
| *'']'' (1972), a film by ] | |||
| *], a prayer widely attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, although in fact there is no record of it prior to 1912. | |||
| *], one of Francis' original followers. | |||
| *] | |||
| *], a school founded in the Franciscan tradition inspired by St. Francis of Assisi. | |||
| *], a school founded in the tradition of St. Francis of Assisi. | |||
| *] (Pennsylvania) | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *], an opera by ] | |||
| *] | |||
| *'']'' (1950), a film by ] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] (places called for Francis of Assisi in French-speaking countries) | |||
| *] | |||
| ==Saint Francis in other media== | |||
| *''Francesco'' (1990), a film by ], somewhat slow moving film which follows Francis of Assisi's evolution from rich man's son to religious humanitarian and eventually to full-fledged self-tortured saint. This movie was inspired by ]'s novel '']''. St. Francis is played by ], and the woman who later became Saint Clare, is played by ] | |||
| *''Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi'' a book by ] (2002) | |||
| *''Flowers for St Francis'' (2005), a book by Raj Arumugam | |||
| *''Saint Francis et His Four Ladies'' (1970) a book by Joan Mowat Erikson | |||
| *''Brother, Sister'' (2006), third full-length album by indie rock band ], featuring the song ''The Sun and Moon'' | |||
| == Footnotes == | |||
| <div class="references-small" > | |||
| <references/> | |||
| </div> | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{wikisource author}} | |||
| {{wikiquote}} | |||
| {{commonscat|Francis of Assisi}} | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| *, official website | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| *]) in North America] | |||
| *]/ Episcopal) in Europe] | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| *{{en icon}} | |||
| * | |||
| *refer Flowers for Francis/ Praise by Raj Arumugam at www.ttsworld.com.au | |||
| * | |||
| * from the ] | |||
| *{{gutenberg|no=18787|name=Life of St. Francis of Assisi by Paul Sabatier}} | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * Writings of St. Francis, in Latin | |||
| * | |||
| <!-- Metadata: these data are not visible to a normal user, unless a line has been added to User:YourUserName/monobook.css ; see ]--> | |||
| <!-- Metadata: see ] --> | |||
| {{persondata | |||
| |NAME=St. Francis of Assisi | |||
| |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Bernardone, Giovanni di | |||
| |SHORT DESCRIPTION=Catholic saint and founder of the Franciscan order | |||
| |DATE OF BIRTH=1182 | |||
| |PLACE OF BIRTH=Assisi, Italy | |||
| |DATE OF DEATH=3 October 1226 | |||
| |PLACE OF DEATH=Assisi, Italy | |||
| }} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis}} | |||
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Revision as of 01:33, 31 January 2008
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