PREAMBLE
Whereas all animals have rights,
Whereas recognition by the human species of the rights to
Whereas genocide has been perpetrated by man on
Whereas from childhood man should be taught to observe,
IT IS HEREBY PROCLAIMED
Saint Francis of Assisi was one of the most popular saints of the Middle ages. This painting by the Italian artist Giovanni Bellini shows Francis about to receive the stigmata- wounds resembling those that Jesus received at Crucifixion. The gentle animals and peaceful landscape symbolized the saints �s love of nature and all living things.
Francis of Assisi, saint (1181 � 1226), founded the Franciscan religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. His simple life of poverty inspired many people during the Middle Ages. Today, many people admire Francis because of his love of peace and his respect for all living creatures.
Francis, the son of a prosperous textile merchant, was born in Assisi, Italy. As a young man, he took an active part in the city�s commercial, political, and social life. Francis was captured while fighting in a war between Assisi and the nearby city of Perugia. He spent most of 1202 and 1203 in an enemy prison. The suffering he saw during the war caused him to think about the meaning and purpose of his life.
In 1205, after seeing a vision of Jesus Christ, Francis changed his way of life. He discovered his father, rejected his inheritance, and began to devote his life to rebuilding churches and serving the poor. Francis adopted absolute poverty as his ideal. He attempted to pattern his own life after the life of Christ by preaching the Gospel, and healing the sick. Soon, Francis started to attract followers.
In 1209, Francis founded the Franciscan order. Although many of his followers became priests, Francis remained a layman.
In 1212, while travelling to Syria to convert the Muslims, Francis was shipwrecked on the coast of Yugoslavia. He tried to go to Morocco as a missionary but became ill in Spain and could not continue. In 1219, Francis accompanied the crusaders to Egypt. There, he tried to convert the sultan but failed.
Francis returned to Italy in 1220. He continued to preach but let others administer the Franciscans. In 1224, while Francis prayed on Mount Alvernia, near Florence, the stigmata appeared on his body. The stigmata are five wounds resembling those suffered by Jesus on His Hands, feet, and side suring the Crucifixion. Two years later, Francis died near Assisi in the Portiuncula chapel, his favourite church and the first headquarters of the Franciscans. Francis was canonized (declared a saint) in 1228. His feast day is celebrated on October 4.
Francis expressed his religious ideals in poem as well as through his ministry. In �Canticle of
the Sun,� he showed his love for all living things. His poems also contributed to the development
of Italian literature. About 100 years after Francis� death, a Franciscan collected stories about saint and his companion in The Little Flowers of Saint Francis.
October 4 of every year is celebrated as World Animal Day because of St. Francis of Assisi �s love of animals and all living things.
Whereas disregard and contempt for the rights of animals
have resulted and continue to result in crimes by
man against nature and against animals.
existence of another animals species is the foundation of the
coexistence of species throughout the animal world,
animals and the threat of genocide continues
Whereas respect for animals is linked to the respect
of man for men,
understand, respect, and love animals.
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St. Francis of Assisi
�Lover of Nature and All Living Things�
