There are some historians who declare that this friendship--for a very real friendship sprang up between Francis and Ugolino--was no advantage to the Order, but rather harmed it. There is no evidence of this among the best authorities; they lean rather to a contrary opinion, and we are inclined to believe ourselves that the Order would never have developed as it did but for Cardinal Ugolino. He went back and told the Pope what he had seen, and the old man rejoiced greatly. It was the last joy he had on earth, for he died a few days later. [Sidenote: _Growth of the Order._] Time went on, the Order spread and spread till it was impossible for one man to do justice to the whole. To meet the growing need for oversight, Italy was divided into several provinces, these provinces were to be directed by brothers who were called "Ministers" or "Provincial Servants." Francis named Peter Catani for Umbria, Elias for Tuscany, Bennet of Arezzo for the Marches of Ancona, John of Stracchai for Lombardy, Daniel for Calabria. Then it was also decided that Bernardo di Quintavelle was to take charge of Spain, and John of Penna, Germany. Francis himself was to take France, a land he had always been especially drawn to. It was through the intervention of Ugolino that he forewent this mission. Francis stopped at Florence on his way to tell him of his journey. Ugolino saw what Francis could not see, that in view of all their new ventures he could not afford to leave the country just then. Francis argued that he could not stay at home in safety and let the brothers go abroad on dangerous missions, it would raise talk. Ugolino wanted to know if Italy wasn't big enough for him. Francis replied that God had raised them up for the good of the whole world. "Perhaps so," said Ugolino, "but in any case _you_ cannot go away yet without imprudence. Your Order is only just started, you know the opposition it met with at first; its enemies are not yet disarmed, and your presence is necessary to defend and maintain it."