Thirteenth-century young man of Assisi who left everything to follow the poor Christ and founded the Franciscans. Patron of ecology.
Life
Francis was born around 1181 to a wealthy merchant family in Assisi, Italy. He dreamed of becoming a knight, but war and illness turned his life in a new direction.
Before the crucifix of San Damiano he heard the call, “Repair my house.” He gave up everything his father owned and followed the poor Christ. Brothers gathered around him and became the Franciscan Order, and with St. Clare a community of women began.
In his Canticle of the Creatures he called all creation brother and sister. He received the stigmata on Mount La Verna in 1224 and died on October 3, 1226.
Spirituality
Francis’s spirituality is poverty, fraternity and praise for creation. In the freedom of owning nothing, he received every person and every creature as God’s gift.
Reflection
What am I holding on to too tightly? Let go of one thing today, and from that empty space look at your neighbors and the natural world with gratitude.