By Canon Ian Morter
On 4 October, the Western Church celebrates perhaps one of its most popular saints – Francis of Assisi. I was pleased to serve for nearly ten years, in a Parish that is dedicated to him, St Francis Woolbrook in the Sid Valley Mission Community.
Born in 1181 into a prosperous silk merchant’s family, in the Italian village of Assisi in Umbria, he was named Giovanni by his mother while her husband was in France on business. However, on his father’s return he started to call him Francesco, in honour of his commercial success and enthusiasm for all things French. As a young man, indulged by his parents, he spent lavishly, enjoyed fine clothes, and enthusiastically partook in the pleasures of life with like-minded young nobles. It was in 1202 that Francis joined a military campaign against Perugia, but was taken prisoner and spent a year in captivity. Two years later Francis enlisted in the army of Count Brienne, and it was during this time that he had a vision which caused him to reassess his life. Returning to Assisi, he renounced ‘worldly pursuits’ and embraced a life of poverty and served the needs of the poor.
While on pilgrimage to Rome, Francis joined the poor begging outside St Peter’s Basilica. On his return to Umbria, he spent his time praying in the forsaken country chapel of San Damiano, a little way outside Assisi, seeking God’s guidance on his future. It was there that he sensed that the painted crucifix in the ruins was speaking directly to him. “Francis, Francis go and repair my church, which as you can see is falling into ruins.” Francis not unexpectedly took this literally – to restore the ruined church in which he was praying. But subsequently, he realised that he was being called to rejuvenate the Western Church with a new vision of service and devotion. Such was the personal attraction of Francis that he attracted many followers who, like him, wanted to renounce worldly wealth and position and wished to share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those in the local community.
In 1209, the Pope granted permission for the new religious order to be formed under a simple rule, allowing its members to live in poverty and beg for their food (differing greatly from the long established Benedictine Order with settled monasteries and lands). Francis eventually founded what was to become an order of mendicant Friars, but it was not until 1223 that the first official form of the Franciscan Rule was granted Papal authority.
In 1219, Francis went to Egypt and actively worked to bring to an end the conflict of the Fifth Crusade and convert Sultan Al-Kamil to Christianity. Around the year 1223, Francis is credited with creating the first Nativity Crib in a cave, during the annual Christmas celebration in the hill-town of Greccio near Lazio, Umbria. Just two years before Francis’ death, he received the Stigmata – the marks of crucifixion on his hands, feet and side. He was praying on Mount La Verna when a vision of the six-winged crucified seraphim transferred the marks of the crucified Christ to Francis symbolising his profound spiritual union with Jesus’ suffering and death. The Stigmata profoundly weakened Francis and remained on his body until his death two years later in 1226. He was made a saint by the Pope in 1228, just two years after his death.
I mentioned at the outset that Francis is one of the Church’s most popular saints. Perhaps this is because of his devotion to God’s creation, as exemplified in his Canticle of the Sun, a hymn of thanksgiving for the whole of the environment. His Feast Day, on 4 October, has now been designated World Animal Day, and being the patron saint of animals, many churches hold pet services around this day.
The Franciscan Community continues today both in the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches. It consists of three distinct Orders. The First Order, Friars Minor, consists of men who have taken the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. They live simply and, like their founder eight hundred years ago, serve the needs of the poor and marginalised. This they do by hands-on charitable work, such as the running of soup kitchens. They preach the Gospel through their educational and evangelistic endeavours, and celebrate and honour creation. The Second Order, The Poor Clares, are an order of cloistered sisters. They, too, live under the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, as well as enclosure, as set out by Francis in conjunction with St Clare of Assisi. Their life is dedicated to prayer, their community, making them the contemplative branch of the Franciscan Family. The Third Order, lay people, are those who follow the Franciscan Rule in their everyday lives.
In the town of Assisi, a basilica has been built where the Franciscan Community worship in the Church where Francis is buried. On the walls of the basilica, Giotto has recorded the life of Francis in a series of 28 frescos. These wonderful colourful works, originally painted on wet plaster, depict key moments from the life of the saint and are based on the writings of his most significant biographer, St Bonaventure. The basilica has become a focus of pilgrimage for Christians across Europe and the world.
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Image credits
- Top image: St Francis of Assisi receiving the Stigmata. Painted by the Italian artist Giotto, around 1295–1300, for the Church of Saint Francis in Pisa. It is now in the Musée du Louvre in Paris.
- Bottom image: Part of the Giotto cycle of Frescos about St Francis of Assisi. Giotto di Bondone, commonly known as Giotto, was a significant Italian painter and architect based in Florence. He was active during the Late Middle Ages and was one of the earliest Renaissance artists. He was born in Vicchio, a few miles from Florence where he based his studio and died in the city in 1337. He was renowned for breaking away from the characteristic Byzantine style and developing a naturalism that showed realistic emotion and that was within the human experience.