Saint Francis Francis was a wealthy young man in the Italian town of Assisi. No one loved gaiety more than he. Francis took great delight in fine clothes and lively frolics and even fought frequent battles as a soldier in the local militia. Despite his youthful sprees and carefree behavior, Francis still felt much sympathy for the poor. Even in his lavish spending on parties, he often gave money to the needy and to charity. He made a pilgrimage to Rome and visited the tomb of St. Peter. He saw that hardly any pilgrims had left money at the shrine. Francis offered his entire purse of gold and then exchanged his clothes with those of a tattered begger. Francis stood for the rest of the day fasting among the swarm of beggers in front of the tomb. A short time later, Francis was praying and gazing at Christ on the crucifix. The figure spoke to Francis and said, “Francis, rebuild My church.” Francis believed it was God Himself who spoke to him. He sold all his belongings and rebuilt his local church with his own hands. Francis soon realized that his call was not just to rebuild one church but to rebuild the entire Catholic Church on a foundation of merciful works. He believed this could be done by following the Gospel and by showing honor, respect and love to every person he met, be they begger or king. Francis started the order of Franciscan brothers and nuns to carry on his mission of helping the poor. In the year 1221 Francis encouraged people in the town of Greccio to erect a living monument to the birth of Jesus. This became the Christmas creche that is celebrated around the world. A legend says that Francis was able to talk to animals and be understood by them. Francis is the patron saint of ecologists and of Catholic action.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 11:52:07 +0000
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