Biography of St. Francis
The Poverello—The Poor Man of Assisi
Francis
was born to Pietro and Pica Bernardone in 1182 in Assisi. Pica named him
Giovanni (John) at his baptism. Pietro later changed his name to Francesco
(Francis).
Francis' father was a successful businessman and business matters had more interest to Francis than school. He did not excel in his studies and led a flamboyant life.
In 1202, Francis went to war and fought the neighboring rival city of Perugia. The Assisians lost the battle; Francis was captured and sent to jail. He was jailed for a year, during which time he contracted a fever, so when he returned to Assisi he was a sick man.
After the war, the common people were called the "minors" and the rulers of the city were called the "majors". Pietro Bernardone was a rich businessman and thus enjoyed the privileged life of the "majors".
Privileged people of the time led a pleasure-loving life. The attitude was to live life to the fullest because tomorrow you may die. Francis lived the privileged life of the time; participating in banquets, feasts, and jousting. He was very generous with Pietro's money. This type of life left Francis with an emptiness. Francis became ill, and along with the illness began to look inward and found solitude.
He began to feel the need to escape the confines of his locale. Francis thought the life of a knight was a noble life. He obtained all of the equipment a knight needed including a horse, weapons, and an elaborate uniform. He was ready to depart on his journey. Francis became aware of a poor nobleman who could not afford a suit of armor. This would prevent the nobleman from participating in battle. Therefore he gave the nobleman his armor.
Francis had a vision that night. Someone appeared who led Francis to a great palace that was full of weapons and knights. He was elated. A voice told Francis that all he saw belonged to Francis and his companion knights. He thought this was a positive sign of the impending battle and went on his journey.
Francis arrived at Spoleto and as he rested, another vision occured. A voice saidm to return to Assisi and that future actions would then be revealed. Upon returning to Assisi he received the criticism and anger of his father and the townspeople. Francis went to solitary places to again hear the voice he heard in Spoleto.
His impulsive lifestyle began to change to a spiritual lifestyle. He began to seek solitude and prayer. Francis was riding and came across a leper. He fought his aversion to leprosy, embraced the man, and gave the leper his money.
One
day, while walking past the church of St. Damian, he felt a need to enter.
While prostrating himself in front of the Crucifix, the lips of the painted
image began to move and speak to Francis. The voice told him to, "…repair
my house because it is falling into ruin."
Francis was changed by this experience. The once jovial Francis became introspective and this troubled his father. The voice told him "if you want to fulfill my will, Francis, you must scorn and abhor all that which you have desired and loved up to now, according to the flesh."
Francis obeyed the voice. He began to give all his possessions to the poor. He sold a horse and his father's cloth and tried to give the proceeds to St. Damian parish. The priest knew Pietro's temper and refused the money. The priest gave Francis refuge and Pietro was irate, demanded that Francis make public amends, and renounce his hereditary rights.
In October 1206, Pietro and Francis met with Bishop Guido. Pietro repeated his demands at which time Francis removed his clothes and threw them at his father's feet. He stated that only God was his father. This signified that at 25 years of age, Francis was now as poor as the Crucifix of St. Damian. The Bishop wrapped his cloak around Francis and brought him into the church.
Francis began to dress in a worn religious habit with a chalk drawn cross on the front. Francis roamed the countryside, singing praises to the Lord, meditating in caves, and performing acts of penance. A voice finally told him to go back to Assisi. In Assisi, he begged for stones to repair St. Damian at which time his friends and other townspeople ridiculed him.
Assisi had many churches. Francis could not repair all of the churches in his lifetime. He restored St. Damian's and St. Peter's and moved on to Porziuncola; a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. A daily Gospel impressed Francis and he asked the priest to explain the reading. It was explained that the Disciples of Christ should not own gold or silver, a purse, a staff, or footwear. They should not have spare clothing but rather own only the clothes on their back. Francis wanted to live this life of poverty. He discarded the few possessions he still had and began to preach penance with a spiritual joy.
Francis now realized he was to build God's church by bringing Christ's message to others, as Christ preached. Francis began with twelve followers. His original plan did not include starting a religious order. His intention was to live the Gospel. Others joined him as they observed his example.
Many groups, of that time, were separating themselves from the Church. Pope Innocent III began a program of reform. He thought temporal power should be subordinate to Church power because flesh is subordinate to the spirit.
Francis and his followers came to visit the Pope in the spring of 1210. They were poorly dressed and appeared to take part in self-denial; as did many of the new groups of the time. Francis wanted Innocent III to sanction his group. The Pope's reform movement eliminated many of groups of this type.
Pope Innocent III recognized something special in Francis. That night, the Pope had a dream in which the Lateran Basilica began to tilt and a poor man came to support the Basilica with his shoulders. The Pope recognized the poor man to be Francis of Assisi; thus, the Franciscan Order was founded.
Francis and his followers found a hovel in the Rivotorto area of the Spoleto valley and this is where they sought shelter from the elements. They led an austere life, begging for their food. Here, Francis educated his followers in the Rule approved by the Pope: poverty, penance, and love of neighbor. They followed the teachings of the Gospel in spirit and body. The powerful people of the area were known as "majors" so the Franciscans took the title of "minors".
The Franciscan brothers were to own one tunic. They were not permitted to possess books, ride on a horse, or own a house. The habitation of the friars transient. Francis stated that all of the houses of the brothers should be made of wood and mud. Their churches should look poor.
The original twelve brothers grew to three thousand in the span of ten years. The friars traveled far and wide, preaching goodness and peace in their travels. They greeted everyone by saying, "May God give you peace." Francis' words dissolved hatred and rivalries.
Tommaso da Celano described Francis as "…a man who spoke freely, of joyous aspect with a benevolent countenance far removed from softness or haughtiness; of average height, indeed rather short; a rotund, not very large head; elongated, thin body; forehead smooth, not broad; medium-sized black eyes; ingenuous look; dark hair; straight eyebrows; nose, thin and regular; ears prominent but small; smooth temples; tongue without venom; a voice full of fervor and passion, penetrating, gentle, clear, sorrowful; even, white, strong teeth; small, thin lips; black, unkempt beard; slender neck; straight shoulders; fine hands with long fingers tapering into well-modeled nails; spindly legs; small feet; delicate skin; a minimum of flesh. He dressed in a tunic of coarse fabric; he hardly ever slept and his hand was ever open in an act of generosity. Since he was a humble man among humble men, he demonstrated an infinite mildness towards all, and knew how to adjust to all humors and dispositions. He was the most saintly among saints who, when among sinners, looked lie one of them."
Clare admired Francis from the time he wandered the streets collecting stones to repair St. Damian. She met with Francis and asked him for direction in living the Gospel. Francis agreed to direct Clare in this direction. Clare was a novice for a year. She ran to St. Mary of the Angels where Francis was waiting. Clare took a vow of poverty. She dressed in a grey religious habit and sent to the Benedictine nuns. Her family came to retrieve her but she refused to leave. She then moved to another Benedictine monastery on Mount Subasio where her sister joined her.
After consecrating both Clare and her sister, Francis sought to have them and other like-minded women lodged at St. Damian. The bishop approved this. Another of Clare's sisters and her mother joined Clare in wearing the habit of poverty. Many of Clare's family and friends became followers of the Rule. In 1219, Cardinal Ugolino assembled a strict Rule for Clare and the other female followers.
Francis sent the brothers to other countries but many encountered ridicule, punishment, and even death. When Francis heard that five had been martyred in Morocco, he praised God because he knew they were true believers. Francis then joined the Crusades. He preached to the Moslems with little results in the way of conversions but he did show the Crusaders that the Gospel should not be delivered by force.
Francis was informed that some of his friars were liberalizing the Rule of poverty and some had written a new Rule. He asked the Pope for a reconfirmation of the Rule. Cardinal Ugolino told Francis the Rule should be modified. Francis was embittered by the differences of opinion that continued. Cardinal Ugolino reorganized the work that Francis had spent his life developing.
Francis wrote a new Rule. Part of the rule stated, "The Rule and life of the Friars Minor is this: observe the Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience, possessing nothing of one's own, and in chastity. The friars who have promised obedience are to have only one tunic with cowl and, if they wish, another tunic without cowl. Those who are compelled by necessity may wear footgear. All friars are to be dressed in shabby clothes and they are to be patched with sackcloth or other rags, with the blessing of God. I invite and exhort them not to despise and judge men whom they see dressed in soft and precious garments and consuming dainty beverages and foods. Rather let each one judge and despise himself. I strictly forbid all the friars to receive monies in any manner, by themselves or through the medium of other persons. Only the ministers and the Custodians thanks to spiritual friends, are to take care of such matters for the needs of the sick and in order to clothe the other friars."
"Friars are not to possess anything, neither house, nor lands, nor anything else whatsoever. They are to pass through this world as pilgrims and foreigners serving the Lord in poverty and humility and begging for alms with confidence and without shame. Let poverty be your party."
After the new Rule was stated, Francis removed himself more from the daily concerns of the Order. Illness made him weak. Fourteen years had passed since Innocent III approved his Rule. He returned to the forests and mountains and sought solitude in the caves where he had started his journey.
Francis treated all living things as his brothers and sisters because they were creatures of God. This included animals, flowers, grass, trees, fire, and water.
Francis, accompanied by Friar Leo, Friar Masseo, and Friar Angelo, rode a donkey to Mount Verna. He was too weak to walk. Francis spent time alone in the forest reliving the Passion of Jesus. He prayed with great intensity and one day a seraph with six wings appeared to the man of God. When the angel disappeared, Francis was marked with the marks of the crucified Christ; his hands and feet were marked with the nail holes and his right side with the mark of the lance. The Stigmata intensified his afflictions and Francis knew death was near. Francis always was frail but was weakened by his continual fasting and penance. He bore his cross with joy.
In May 1226, Francis returned to Assisi. As death drew closer, they transported him to Porziuncola. Francis composed the Canticle of Creatures as he suffered. Francis died on October 3, 1226. After much suffering, he asked to be laid on the bare earth outside the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels at the bottom of the hill of Assisi. There he would commend his soul to his Heavenly Father. His last words were, "Free my soul from prison, so that I may praise Thy name."
Francis was declared a saint only two years later; that same year work was begun on his permanent burial place in Assisi. In 1230, St. Francis' remains were moved to the church that the world knows today as the Basilica of St. Francis. It remains one of the most popular places of pilgrimages in the world, and has been visited by many popes.
There are three Franciscan Orders. The First Order of St. Francis is the Friars Minor, the Second Order is the Poor Ladies or the Poor Clares, and the Third Order of St. Francis is the Secular Franciscan Order. The third order secular was founded by St. Francis about 1221 and embraces devout persons of both sexes living in the world and following a rule of life approved by Nicholas IV in 1289, and modified by Leo XIII, in May, 1883.