Francis was the son of a successful cloth merchant of Assisi. Christened John, he is always known as Francis (the Frenchman) because his mother was from Provence. As a young man, Francis took an active part in the social life of the city. He saw service in a petty war with nearby Perugia and became a prisoner of war. On his release he turned his back on warfare and kneeling before a Byzantine-style crucifix in the half-ruined Church of San Damiano he prayed. The crucifix seemed to speak to him, “Francis, go and rebuild my church, which you see is in ruins.”

Francis sold some goods belonging to his father to pay for repairs, and went to live with the priest of San Damiano. This culminated in a famous scene. A public argument with his father renouncomg him and all his wealth, where Francis publically stripped naked in front of everyone, including the bishop of Assisi, and walked away from his old life..

Dressed in a grey-brown peasant’s smock the bishop gave him and with a piece of rope for a belt, Francis began a life of poverty, preaching the love of Christ. He preached all around Italy and even at the crusaders’ camp at Damietta in Egypt, leaving him totally disillusioned with the crusades. He inspired followers and the Order of Friars Minor was born, not something he had ever intended. He made a simple rule of life for his followers, officially approved in 1210. The order grew rapidly and spread all over Europe and beyond (it reached England in 1224). It soon outgrew the carefree, poverty-laden beginning. The vow of poverty clashing with the demands of a large organisation were part of the cross Francis had to bear. He resigned as minister-general of the order in 1220. He saw clearly that he lacked the administrative skills needed and handed that role to Brother Elias. Francis took on a more formal rule in 1223, making the order a part of the wider church.

Francis is much loved, best known as a mission preacher, and lover of animals. But he was far more than that. His deep devotion to the passion of his master, whom he strove so closely to follow, led him to reject materialism and security. He was a mystic, dramatic fool for Christ, happy singer and troubadour of God, with a deep love of the by-no-means perfect church of his day. All these are as much a part of St Francis as miraculous stories of his way with animals, and the sermons he preached to them. Never a robust man, the preaching tours, the austerities he followed, and the horrific medical practices of the period all weakened his health. His spiritual journey reached a climax in the seraphic vision of his crucified Lord and the marking of his body with the wounds of Christ (stigmata which he bore till his death two years later). In 1226 he was carried home to die at the chapel of the Portiuncula below Assisi. He was buried in the Church of San Giorgio, Assisi, but his relics were transferred in 1230 to the new basilica built by Brother Elias. There they remain. He was canonised only two years after his death.

BORN: 1181, Assisi, Duchy of Spoleto, Holy Roman Empire.

DIED: 3 October 1226 (aged 44 years), Assisi, Umbria, Papal States