St. Francis of Assisi stands as an eminent and cherished figure within the realm of Catholicism. His profound connection with the natural world and its creatures is well remembered, yet his ultimate renown arises from his unwavering dedication to the Divine.
The Life Journey of St. Francis
St. Francis, born circa 1181 in Assisi, Italy, into an affluent merchant family, led a youth characterized by carefree indulgence. He devoted himself to intellectual pursuits, music, and the enchantment of poetry, which he often performed at social gatherings. His ambitions diverged from the monastic life or his family's commercial pursuits, an aspiration held dear by his father. Instead, Francis harbored dreams of becoming a knight and exhibiting his valor on the battlefield. In approximately 1202, he managed to realize this aspiration, engaging in the conflict between Assisi and Perugia. However, this chapter in his life was brief and terminated with his capture and subsequent incarceration, a period marked by profound suffering. Upon his release, he endured a protracted bout of severe illness, experiences that would significantly influence his perspective on life, though he was not yet prepared for the radical transformation that would come to define his existence.
Shortly thereafter, Francis resolved to participate in another martial campaign. Yet, a divine vision from God intervened, signaling the inception of a gradual and profound metamorphosis. He returned to Assisi, opting for the path of solitude and contemplation amidst the countryside and rolling hills. He began to serve the destitute and leprous, notwithstanding his father's discontentment, who insisted that Francis follow in his entrepreneurial footsteps or return to the path of chivalry. Francis, however, was consumed by an abiding love for the Divine, and after numerous confrontations with his father, he resolved to relinquish all worldly possessions and acknowledge only God as his Father. In the ensuing years, he forsook both family and companions to lead a life characterized by poverty and unceasing prayer.
The Genesis of the Franciscan Order
With the passage of time, Francis commenced the gathering of like-minded disciples with whom he devoted considerable hours to prayer, attentive to the voice of the Divine, ministering to the impoverished and infirm, and embarking on the restoration of long-forgotten churches. They undertook the task of disseminating the Gospel in urban centers, and by the year 1209, his followers had multiplied to a dozen, all clad in ragged attire. Francis and the Friars Minor resolved to formulate a Rule governing their communal existence and embarked on a pilgrimage to Rome, seeking papal endorsement. Pope Innocent III bestowed verbal approval upon the establishment of the Order of Friars Minor, known as the Franciscans. Francis and the Friars Minor returned to Assisi, taking residence in the modest confines of the Porziuncola church, from whence they commenced a life of devotion and evangelical preaching. Over the course of a decade, the ranks of the Friars Minor expanded exponentially, from a mere twelve to an assembly of approximately five thousand.
Between 1210 and 1224, St. Francis undertook pilgrimages through the thoroughfares and plazas of Italy, amassing large throngs of admirers wherever he traversed. In the course of his spiritual odyssey, Saint Francis embraced a young woman named Clare, who would go on to establish the Second Franciscan Order, recognized as the Poor Clares or the Franciscan nuns. Francis further established the Third Franciscan Order, designed for those desiring a life marked by penitence and spiritual devotion within the ranks of the laity. This third order encompassed regulations attuned to the secular existence, signifying a pivotal juncture in the expansion of the Franciscan movement. In 1223, Pope Honorius III granted final and uncontestable approval to the Rule of the Friars Minor, penned by Francis himself, as he embarked upon the twilight of his life. It was in the year 1224, during a forty-day sojourn, that he received an extraordinary gift: the stigmata, manifest wounds akin to those borne by Christ upon his hands, feet, and side. These sacred stigmata bore witness to Francis's profound communion with the passion of Christ. Regrettably, the concluding years of his life were marked by the tribulations of various ailments and the gradual erosion of his eyesight. On the 4th of October, 1226, after exhaustive searches for remedies proved fruitless, Saint Francis departed this world, encircled by his brethren in Assisi, in close proximity to the Porziuncola church that had marked the commencement of his life as a Friar Minor. A mere two years hence, Pope Gregory IX canonized him as a saint, conferring formal recognition of his sanctity and his extraordinary spiritual influence. His spiritual bequest continued to burgeon across the ensuing centuries.
The Canticle of the Created Universe
Throughout the tapestry of St. Francis's existence, his veneration for the natural world in all its manifestations remained a prevailing theme. It comes as no surprise that he hailed the Sun as a fraternal entity and the Moon as a sororal one. To St. Francis, every creature, great and small, merited reverence, and his "Canticle of the Created Universe" commenced with adoration: "Be praised, O Lord, with all Your creations." His writings and supplications frequently incorporated the presence of animals, encompassing creatures of the sea, lambs, and avian denizens, predominantly. However, one of the most renowned narratives revolved around a wolf that sowed terror in the township of Gubbio. It is recounted that St. Francis managed to engage in discourse with the beast, beseeching it to temper its ferocity, resulting in a reconciliation that ushered in an era of tranquility for the community.
The Prayer of St. Francis
The "Prayer of St. Francis" ranks among the world's most renowned invocations, encapsulating the very quintessence of Franciscan spirituality. In this entreaty, one beseeches for the infusion of love in the face of hatred, hope amid despair, illumination in the depths of darkness, and forgiveness in the wake of injury.
The Feast Celebrating St. Francis
The 4th of October marks the Feast Day of St. Francis, and in 2005, the Italian Parliament conferred upon this occasion the status of a "civil solemnity and a day dedicated to peace, fraternity, and interreligious dialogue." This date continues to serve as an enduring opportunity for the promotion of St. Francis's ideals and values, which resonate profoundly with our contemporary era. Dialogue, a virtue of paramount significance within the Franciscan tradition, assumes a central theme during the Feast of St. Francis. On this day, we are enjoined to ponder how we might embody these ideals in our time, fostering peace, fraternity, and interreligious discourse, just as Saint Francis beckoned us to do.