Saint Francis of Assisi

Italian monk

• Born: c. 1181
• Birthplace: Assisi, Umbria, Duchy of Spoleto (now in Italy)
• Died: October 3, 1226
• Place of death: Assisi, Umbria, Duchy of Spoleto (now in Italy)

Through the rejection of material values and the establishment of the Franciscan orders, Saint Francis of Assisi contributed to the reform movement of the medieval Church during the early thirteenth century.

Early Life

Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Francis of Assisi (uh-SIHS-ee), was the son of Pietro and Pica di Bernardone. His father was a prosperous merchant, and Francis grew up in a comfortable environment and developed an appreciation of life’s pleasures. Francis was provided a Latinist education at the school associated with the Church of Saint Giorgio in Assisi. Based on his later demonstrations of knowledge of contemporary French literature and art, and the works of the famous French troubadours in particular, it has been assumed that he received instruction in French language and literature sometime during his formative period. His family’s prosperity and his extroverted personality resulted in Francis being recognized as a promising young leader not only in Assisi but throughout Umbria; he was expected to assume a prominent position in the political and economic life of his society.

In about 1202, Francis participated in a war between Perugia and Assisi and was captured and imprisoned. Released by the Perugians in 1203, he returned to Assisi in poor health. After a prolonged period of recuperation, he attempted to renew his military career by involving himself in the war (1205-1206) between several northern Italian states and cities against the Holy Roman Empire. At the Appenine town of Spoleto, however, Francis had a mystical experience in which he was bidden to return to Assisi to await news of what he should undertake as his life’s work. This experience redirected Francis from secular interests centered on worldly values to a life of poverty and spirituality.

Life’s Work

Based on his own later writings and documented conversations, Francis of Assisi continued to have spiritual experiences that directed him toward a new life. At one time, Christ appeared to him, and on another occasion, a voice emanated from the crucifix in the dilapidated Church of Saint Damiano and directed Francis to undertake the reformation and rebuilding of Christ’s church. According to Francis, he then returned to his father’s shop and took a quantity of cloth, which he sold in a nearby town. Returning to the Church of Saint Damiano, he tried to give the money to the priest, to be used in renovating the building. Pietro di Bernardone reprimanded his son for this action, and hearings before civil and religious leaders occurred. In the end, Francis repudiated his father’s values and his connection with his family; he left for the outskirts of Assisi.

Francis began to renovate churches in need of repair and led a life of poverty. While attending Mass at the Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels in February, 1208, Francis was moved by a reading from the Gospel of Matthew enjoining the active repudiation of worldliness and the need to lead a spiritually based life. Francis began to preach and to gain disciples. In the following year, a reluctant Pope Innocent III approved of his band’s simple rule of life and the establishment of the Franciscan order. Francis and his followers set out to duplicate the selfless lifestyle of Christ; at the cornerstone of the Franciscan rule were faith and simplicity. Francis’s sermons were free of complicated disputations. He maintained that the Franciscan friars should assist others by working in the world rather than being confined to a monastery, that they should care for the sick and the dying, that they should preach the Gospel, and that they should lead lives of poverty and chastity in order to move closer to a Christlike state.

Francis of Assisi extended his new values to a theology of nature, arguing that all aspects of God’s creation were interconnected and that human beings should exist in a state of respect and harmony with all other manifestations of nature. His work “Il cantico delle creature” (“Canticle of Creatures,” which has been also been called“The Canticle of the Sun” and “Laudes creaturatum”) was an expression of the comprehensive Franciscan worldview in which the natural elements and inanimate physical objects are recognized as integral parts of God’s cosmic design.

The Franciscan order grew rapidly, extending throughout Italy and beyond. By 1215, there were more than five thousand men in the Franciscan order. In 1212, Francis had established an order for women, named the Poor Ladies of Assisi and known as the Poor Clares after its first member, Saint Clare of Assisi. In 1221, Francis set up the third order of Franciscan Brothers and Sisters of Penance. From 1212 to the early 1220’, the Franciscan order grew so rapidly that it required additional structuring to manage its affairs effectively. The position of vicar of the order was established; Peter Catanii was the first vicar, but he died shortly after his appointment. Elias of Cortona, who replaced Catanii, did much of the organizational work and managed the day-to-day operations of the order through the 1220’. A new rule, which provided for a period of orientation, training, and review, was developed; it was approved by Pope Honorius III in 1223.

Francis of Assisi dreamed of visiting the Holy Land and evangelizing the Muslims in Spain, but accidents and poor health prohibited these journeys. In 1219, however, he did go to Egypt during a crusade and had an opportunity to preach to a Muslim sultan. According to some accounts, the sultan was so impressed with Francis that he granted him and his companions the right to visit the Holy Land; there is no documentation to substantiate this tale, and it is known that Francis never did visit the Holy Land.

The last years of Francis’s life were spent in Assisi and its environs. He had another mystical experience in 1224 during a prolonged fast. In a vision, an angel appeared to Francis and filled him with the experiences of the crucified Christ; the consequence was the appearance of the stigmata on his body. Francis’s health declined steadily after 1224. Encroaching blindness was aggravated by a more serious but unspecified medical problem; apparently, the last two years of his life were painful, and medical remedies were applied to no avail. Francis of Assisi died on October 3, 1226, in Assisi. In 1230, his remains were moved from their temporary depository in the Church of Saint Giorgio to the new basilica that had been constructed under the supervision of Elias of Cortona. On July 16, 1228, Francis of Assisi was canonized a saint by Pope Gregory IX.

Significance

Francis’s life and work were representative of the conflicting forces of his age. Born to wealth and influence and seemingly destined to exercise power, Francis repudiated this inheritance and emerged as the most earnest and visible advocate of reformed values within and outside the Church during the early thirteenth century. Though an unordained layperson, Francis of Assisi became the most prominent spokesperson for change in the Church. As a leader, he established religious orders that were committed to simplicity in striving to realize the Christian ideal, to be Christlike. The religious orders that Francis founded were not in the monastic tradition, for they did not seek to isolate their members from the world but rather were committed to a mission of evangelism and charity that demanded active public involvement.

Within the medieval Church, the Franciscans emerged as a new alternative for a new age. The popularity of the orders was demonstrated by their rapid growth and expansion and by the papal recognition that was extended to them. The Franciscan orders have survived and multiplied through the centuries, becoming one of the largest and most influential religious communities in the world. The basilica at Assisi has been maintained and serves as a popular shrine for Catholics as well as others from throughout the world.

One of the most enduring legacies of Francis of Assisi was his exemplary life of simplicity and piety. His emphasis on active life within society and his views on the interdependence of all created beings have inspired subsequent generations to this day.

Bibliography

Armstrong, Regis J., J. A. Wayne Hellman, and William J. Short, eds. Francis of Assisi: Early Documents. New York: New City Press, 1999-2001. 3 vols. The three books of this set, The Saint, The Founder, and The Prophet, contain translated biographies, hagiographies, and other early writings concerning Saint Francis and the Franciscans. An excellent collection of early sources that contains explanatory notes. Maps and bibliography.

Cowan, James. Francis: A Saint’s Way. Ligouri, Mo.: Liguori/Triumph, 2001. A devotional biography of Saint Francis of Assisi that focuses on his inner life, including questions of asceticism and poverty. Contains bibliography.

Frugoni, Chiara. Francis of Assisi: A Life. New York: Continuum, 1998. A biography of Saint Francis of Assisi. Bibliography and index.

House, Adrian. Francis of Assisi. New York: HiddenSpring, 2001. A treatment of the life of Francis of Assisi that attempts to deal with the miracles and other legends in a way so that non-Christians can appreciate the saint’s life.

Jobe, Sara Lee. Footsteps in Assisi. New York: Paulist Press, 1996. A look at Assisi that examines the homes and haunts of Saints Francis and Clare and deals with the spiritual life in the Middle Ages.

Robson, Michael. Saint Francis of Assisi: The Legend and the Life. London: Geoffre Chapman, 1999. A biography of Saint Francis that describes both the legends and his life. Bibliography and index.

Sabatier, Paul. The Road to Assisi: The Essential Biography of Saint Francis. Brewster, Mass.: Paraclete Press, 2003. A new edition of a classic biography of Saint Francis of Assisi by a French Protestant.

Spoto, Donald. Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi. New York: Viking Compass, 2002. In this biography of the saint, Spoto tries to distinguish between legend and fact, citing reasons for his beliefs, and describes the political scene at the time.

Wolf, Kenneth Baxter. The Poverty of Riches: Saint Francis of Assisi Reconsidered. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Wolf takes a critical look at the poverty pursued by Saint Francis of Assisi and what it meant for those impoverished people in Assisi. He examines the saint’s contact with the leper and his wearing of a tunic.