Biography of Saint Francis of Assisi

Biography of Saint Francis of Assisi

Born in 1181/82 in Assisi, duchy of Spoleto, Italy, and died on October 3, 1226 in Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan orders of the Friars Minor (Ordo Fratrum Minorum), the women’s Order of St. Clare (the Poor Clares), and the lay Third Order. He was canonized on July 16, 1228, and his feast day is October 4. In the early 13th century, he was also a leading figure in the evangelical poverty movement.

Biography of Saint Francis of Assisi

Early Life

In the year 1182, Francis was born in Assisi, Italy. Being the son of a wealthy cloth merchant, he had an affluent upbringing. As a child, Francis enjoyed learning and performing songs. His father taught him about French culture and wished for him to become a businessman.

Going to Battle

Francis, who was about nineteen, engaged in combat with the neighboring town of Perugia. Francis was apprehended and placed under arrest. Before his father paid the ransom and released him, the man spent a year being held captive in a dungeon.

Visions from God

Francis started to experience visions from God throughout the following few years, which profoundly altered his life. His first vision occurred while he was ill and had a high fever. He initially believed that he had been called by God to participate in the Crusades. But in a different vision, he was instructed to aid the sick. At last, during a church service, Francis perceived God telling him to “repair my church, which is falling in ruins.

Francis donated every penny he owned to the church. His father was furious with him. Following that, Francis vowed to live in poverty and left his father’s house.

The Franciscan Order

People started to follow Francis as he lived in poverty and talked to them about the life of Jesus Christ. He had about eleven disciples by 1209. “To follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in his footsteps” was his one and only rule.

Francis had been a devout Catholic for many years. He went to Rome with his adherents to obtain the pope’s blessing for his religious order. Initially, the pope was hesitant. These were smelly, impoverished, and unclean men. Eventually on, though, he realized their poverty vow and blessed the Order.

Other Orders

Men joined the Franciscan Order and took poverty vows, which led to its growth. Francis assisted Clare of Assisi in founding the Order of the Poor Ladies, often known as the Order of Saint Clare, when she desired to make comparable vows. In addition, he founded a different organization that became known as the Third organization of Saint Francis, which was open to both men and women who followed the precepts of the Franciscan Order in their day-to-day lives without taking vows or quitting their employment.

Love for Nature

It was well known that Francis loved the outdoors and animals. There are numerous legends concerning Saint Francis and his sermons to animals. It is reported that as he was conversing with several birds one day, they started singing together. Then they formed the shape of a cross as they flew into the sky.

Francis was reported to be able to tame wild animals. There is a tale of a ferocious wolf that was killing livestock and people in the town of Gubbio. The residents of the town were terrified and unsure of what to do. Francis went to face the wolf in the town. The wolf first snarled at Francis and got ready to charge him. But Francis signaled the wolf not to harm anyone else by making the sign of the cross. The town was safe when the wolf was domesticated.

Death

Francis became ill and spent the last few years of his life mostly blind. He died in 1226 while singing Psalm 141. He was declared a saint of the Catholic Church only two years after his death.

Facts about Saint Francis of Assisi

• October 4th is observed as Saint Francis feast day.
• It is said that he received the stigmata two years before he died. This was the wounds of Christ from the cross including his hands, feet, and side.
• Francis traveled to the Holy Lands during the Crusades hoping to conquer the Muslims with love rather than war.
• Francis set up the first known Nativity scene to celebrate Christmas in 1220.
• He believed that actions were the best example, telling his followers to “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.

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