Francis of Assisi

Francis of Assisi, *Il Poverello* ("the little poor man"), abandoned wealth to live the Gospel in radical poverty and founded the Franciscan order — one of the most beloved saints of all Christianity, and a bridge-figure honoured far beyond the Catholic Church.

Conversion Born to a rich cloth-merchant of Assisi, Francis was a carefree youth and would-be knight until a series of experiences — illness, captivity, and a voice from the crucifix of San Damiano bidding him "repair my church" — turned him to God. In a decisive public act he stripped off his fine clothes and renounced his inheritance before the bishop and his father, to belong wholly to "our Father in heaven."

Lady Poverty and the Gospel life Hearing the Gospel command to take no gold, no bag, no second coat (Matthew 10), Francis took it literally, embracing "Lady Poverty" and a life of preaching, begging, and serving lepers and the poor. Companions gathered, and in 1209 he received papal approval for a simple rule — the beginning of the Friars Minor (Franciscans). With Clare of Assisi he also founded an order for women, the Poor Clares.

Creation, the crib, and the stigmata Francis' love of creation — preaching to the birds, his *Canticle of the Sun* praising "Brother Sun" and "Sister Moon" — made him, much later, the patron saint of ecology. He is credited with creating the first live Nativity scene at Greccio. In 1224, on Mount La Verna, he is said to have received the stigmata, the wounds of Christ in his own body — the first widely reported case; the traditions regard the report with the reverence or caution proper to each. He died in 1226, aged about 44.

Legacy Canonised just two years after his death, Francis is among the most universally loved figures in Christian history — his ideals of poverty, humility, peace, and care for creation admired by Catholics, Protestants, and non-Christians alike. The Franciscan orders he founded remain among the largest in the Church.