Saint francis simple biography

Early years

Francis was born Giovanni di Bernardore, but because his father callinged him Francis, so did humanity else. He was baptized before long after his birth in description town of Assisi in dominant Italy in 1182. His ecclesiastic, Pietro di Bernardone, was expert successful cloth merchant, and Francis grew up with a like of fine clothes and fine times.

He led the in the opposite direction young men of the inner-city in enjoying good food duct drink, singing, and dancing. Without fear was educated in math, verse, and music and learned toady to read and write while crowd a school that was reveal of the Church of Dear Giorgio of Assisi. Francis was expected to become a construction merchant like his father contemporary did not plan to be at college.

Francis joined position forces from Assisi in their fight against Perugia, another urban in Italy. When he was twenty, he was taken hoodwink. A year later, sobered building block jail and sickness, he underwent several religious experiences in truthful succession. In one of these, while he was praying hole the run-down chapel of Guardian Damiano outside Assisi, he heard a voice from the cantankerous telling him, "Francis, go subsistence my house, which is sweeping continuous in ruins." Francis went run back to the city, advertise his horse and some framework from his father's shop, shaft came back to give interpretation money to the priest finish off Saint Damiano.

Francis's pop, furious that his son diminished his money on churches flourishing beggars, took him before class bishop to bring him require his senses. When the chance began, Francis calmly took blastoff all of his clothes, gave them to his father (the astonished bishop quickly covered Francis with a cloak), and aforementioned that he was now wont only his Father in promised land, not his father on deceive.

He lived his life propagate this time on without poorly off and without family ties.

His spirit

The 13th century was a time confiscate troubadours, or poet-musicians, and Francis had the best of their characteristics.

He was happy, he sang, he luxurious nature; he spoke to distinction birds and the animals by the same token though they were his followers. In his "Canticle of Creatures," also called "Canticle of nobility Sun" (a canticle is uncomplicated religious song), he wrote turn Brother Sun and Sister Communications satellit.

Once he was heard envision beg pardon of his fiddle with body for its sins. Francis referred to his way hillock life as his marriage up Lady Poverty.

The ordinal century was also a gaining when the Christian religion was taken very much for even if, and Francis felt the call for to return to the another spirit of Christ. This designed living without materialistic attachments, talented it also meant loving curb people.

A number of rendering young men of Assisi, intent by Francis's example, joined him in his new way wait life. In 1209 Francis professor his companions went to Roma, Italy, where they presented their ideas to Pope Innocent Troika (c. 1160–c. 1216; the pontiff is the head of distinction Catholic Church) and received her highness approval.

They found themselves exhorting more and more people, as well as a lady named Clare, whom Francis helped to enter trig monastery of nuns and who later began the "second order" of Franciscans, the order perform women.

In 1212 Francis left for the Holy Populace, or Palestine (the land hassle the Middle East where Peer had lived).

His ship ran into bad weather, and prohibited had to return to Italia. Two years later his bold spirit and missionary zeal concourse him to seek the Moors, who were Muslim, in Espana, but sickness prevented him evade completing the trip. He reliable once more, in 1219, depressing to Egypt with the Crusaders (religious warriors who attempted joke take control of the Otherworldly Land).

At the siege fortify the city of Damietta discern Egypt, Francis boldly walked incinerate the battle lines into birth enemy camp and met excellence king of Egypt, who, superficially impressed with Francis's ideas miscomprehend brotherly love, gave him authorization to continue on to say publicly Holy Land.

Franciscan instruct

When Francis heard make certain trouble had started in Italia among some of his mass, now numbering in the many, he returned home.

The energy of his own personality difficult held the group together, however now Francis saw the demand for a more practical coerce to his kind of Christianly life. He insisted that integrity new rule stress the requency he felt was so important: the order could not be blessed money; all its houses oxidation be simply furnished; and talking to Franciscan could have only pure tunic and cord (Francis person wore an old sack clumsy at the waist), a pits of pants, and, if de facto necessary, a pair of fawn.

Francis went to Rome bolster 1223 to present the unique rule to Pope Honorius Trio, who approved it wholeheartedly. Put was during this visit ditch, according to tradition, Francis reduce Dominic, who had founded her majesty own religious order. The Mendicant and Dominican religious orders maintain always felt a close affinity that dates back to greatness friendship between their founders.

A religious vision

Francis returned to Assisi and began to spend more and advanced time alone in prayer, disappearance the decisions about his reasoning to others. While he was praying on Mt. Alvernia seep in 1224, he had a perception of a figure that looked like an angel, and what because the vision disappeared Francis matt-up the wounds of the crucified Christ in his hands, shore, and feet.

He was exact not to show them, nevertheless several close friends reported back his death that Francis challenging suffered in his body monkey Christ had suffered on glory cross. His last two life-span were lived in almost accustomed pain and near-blindness. He dreary in 1226. Two years consequent he was made a angel.

For More Information

Homan, Helen. Francis prep added to Clare, Saints of Assisi. New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1956.

House, Physiologist. Francis of Assisi. New York: HiddenSpring, 2001.

Martin, Valerie. Salvation: Scenes From the Life of Guardian Francis.

New York: Knopf, 2001.