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ABOUT SAINT FRANCIS

St. Francis was born in 1182, the son of Peter Bernardone and Madonna Pica. His father sold spices and fabrics and was often out of town on business. In fact, while Peter Bernardone was traveling in Provence on business, Madonna Pica gave birth to his son. His mother named him John, but Peter Bernardone immediately renamed him Francis when he returned home. Francis spent a happy childhood under the watchful eye of Madonna Pica and the attention heaped on him by his father, who was certain that Francis would follow him in the merchant business. He was popular with everyone and attended every banquet. Nevertheless, his strict education and healthy moral upbringing gave everything he did a sense of balance. In spite of this, however, during his carefree younger days there were also episodes revealing intolerance on his part, but it was on one of these occasions that the seed of his future transformation was planted. He was working intently in his father's cloth shop, arranging the fabric, when a beggar came to the door asking for alms in God1s name. Francis rudely kicked the man out, but then he regretted his actions and followed the man. When he found him, he stopped the man and, apologizing, he gave him some money. When Francis was just barely twenty years old, he fought in the war between Assisi and Perugia and was taken prisoner. That period shaped the young man1s soul and the weaker his body became, the more deeply his sense of charity and love towards others took root in him. By the time he returned to Assisi, he was seriously ill. His mother's loving care and time itself brought him back to health, but the carefree life he had led before and which had started again by now, seemed empty to him. Driven by his dreams of being a soldier, he decided to follow a condottiere to the southern region of Apulia, but when he had gotten as far as Spoleto, the Lord appeared to him one night in a dream and ordered him to turn back. The words of God echoed in his mind like a summons. This marked the beginning of his gradual conversion and from that moment on, his life was to be filled with prophetic events. During a brief stay in Rome, for example, he stripped himself of his garments and his money. Later, he encountered a leper in Assisi and instead of fleeing from him as most people did, he went up to him and embraced him. He did all this amidst the mockery and scorn of his friends and to his father1s great disappointment. Only in Madonna Pica did he find any understanding. But his path was clear: that leper was Christ himself! He chose to go off in silent meditation amidst the hills and countryside of Assisi, often stopping at the little church of St. Damian, just a few kilometers outside the city. And God spoke to him through the crucifix in the little chapel, saying, "Go and repair my house, which is in ruins." Consequently, he took the fabric from his father's shop, sold it in Foligno and brought the money to the priest at St. Damian1s. However, Peter Bernardone intervened, breaking this peaceful spell, and Francis was forced to hide in order to escape from his father1s rage. A short time later, his father1s diatribe came to a head before the Bishop of Assisi. Francis renounced his father1s possessions and began a period marked by meditation and great sacrifice. Francis1 actions did not go unnoticed and he was soon joined by his first followers: Bernard of Quintavalle, Peter Catanii and then a short time later, Giles and Philip the Long. Francis and his companions had their first experiences in the Assisi valley, in the hovel in Rivotorto and at the Porziuncola. They were joined by other companions and, like Francis, they dressed in a tunic and rags. The Order of the Friars Minor was officially founded in 1210, when Francis and his companions were received by Pope Innocent II, who orally approved their Rule. In a dream, the pope had a vision that the Lateran Basilica was falling into ruin and that a man was sustaining it to keep it from collapsing: that man was Francis! In the meantime, the headquarters of the Order moved from Rivotorto to the Porziuncola. This was also when the first contact with Clare of Assisi took place and this represented the beginning of the female branch of the Franciscan movement or, in other words, the foundation of the Order of the Poor Women, who would later be known as the Poor Clares. In 1213, Count Orlando of Chiusi donated Mount La Verna to Francis and this marked the beginning of more widespread teaching. Francis decided to go to Morocco, but had to stop in Spain because he fell ill. In 1216, Honorius III approved the Porziuncola Indulgence, or the Assisi Pardon, which was the most important indulgence in the Christian world after the one that the faithful could obtain in the Holy Land. The saint's followers then began to preach in Europe and the Orient. In 1219, Francis left for Acre and Damietta as part of one of the Crusades and arrived in Egypt, at the court of sultan Melek el-Kamel. From there, he went on to Palestine. In the meantime, the first Franciscan martyrs died in Morocco. The Poor One returned to Assisi in 1220 and by this time, his ideals of poverty, charity and simplicity had influenced a great number of people. Therefore, at this point he began new cycle of evangelization in Central Italy and traveled up and down the peninsula. At Fontecolombo, near Rieti, he drew up a new Rule, which was then approved by Honorius III. At Greccio in December, he made the first Christmas cr�che, one of Christianity1s most beloved traditions. While he was on Mount La Verna in 1224, he received the Stigmata, the sign of Christ and of holiness. At this point in his life, however, he was exhausted and ill, since all his preaching had worn him out completely. He was seriously ill and was treated at St. Damian1s, where he was the guest of Clare and her sister religious. While he was there, he composed the Canticle of Brother Sun, a deeply religious and lyrical prayer that synthesizes all the ideals of humility that made Franciscanism so momentous. Perceiving that he had come to the end of his days, he asked to be brought to the Porziuncola, in Santa Maria degli Angeli, the place from which his message was spread. He died here at sunset on October 3, 1226. Two years later, on July 16th, he was canonized a saint by Pope Gregory IX.

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