The Real San Francesco di Assisi

He was NOT a hippie, peacenik, radical environmentalist wacko, nature worshipper that many today try to present him as, esp some of those so-called Franciscans who are really pagans in Franciscan clothing.

He was something totally different. The short version, he was an orthodox faithful Catholic who saw the glory of God reflected in nature & was called by God to preach the Gospel, calling people to repentance & following Christ as Lord & Savior.

Giovanni Francesco Bernardone was 1 of 7 children born to Pietro di Bernardone, a rich cloth merchant, and his wife Pica Bourlemont. From the start there was a divergence between the direction his father wanted him to go & what God had planned for him. Pietro was away in France on business when his son was born. Pica gave him the name Giovanni at his Baptism in honor of St. John the Baptist. She wanted him to be a great religious leader. Pietro was furious. He wanted his son to have nothing to do with the Church & began calling him Francesco. It was Pietro's way of both bragging about his business success in France & brown-nosing those from France he had business dealings with.

Francis' early life before his conversion was what we might call his hippie phase. It was also his party animal phase to use modern terms. He enjoyed bright clothing, drinking, hanging out with rich friends (the in-crowd of the time), brawling, writing poetry & working at being a troubador.

At that time Italia wasn't a united country. Rather, it was a group of city-states often at war with each other. In 1201 he joined a miltary expedition against Perugia. He was captured & spent a year as a prisoner. When he returned to Assisi he took up his old life. But, he was growing incressingly dissatisfied with his life, after an illness & another attempt at being a soldier, he returned home. His hunger for God grew. Finally, he ended up at the Church of San Damiano near Assisi. There Christ spoke to him thhrough the crucifix & called him to rebuild His Church. At 1st Francis thought God ment that he was to repair San Damiano. So, he took some of the cloth from his father to pay for needed materials for the repairs.

Naturally, Pietro was livid when he found out. He beat Francis, imprisoned him & finally went to the local Bishop to demand the end of Francis' actions. It was before the Bishop that Francis renounced his father, stripped himself of his clothing. The Bishop put his cloak arround Francis. It was at this time that he took up the rough habit that we think of when we think of him. For the next couple of years he begged & repaired different churches. Then he heard a sermon on Matthew 10:9. He realized what he true calling was, to preach the Gospel calling people to repentance & following Christ.

Soon he was joined by Bernard, also from Assisi. Soon more men joined him. He decided to go to Rome to seek approval of Pope Innocent III for his new order. In Rome he met Bishop Guido of Assisi & Cardinal Giovanni di San Paolo who took up his cause. Naturally, the Pope was cautious, but he gave Francis' order its initial approval. Francis was ordained a deacon at this time.

Soon after another citizen of Assisi heard his message & was drawn to Christ by his preaching. Chiara Offreduccio (Clare) met with him. On Palm Sunday of 1211, he welcomed her as the 1st of what would be known as the Poor Clares. For a while she stayed at a Benedictine monastery.

As time went on the order grew & naturally problems developed. He drew up a rule, later revised. During this time he also took part in the 5th Crusade. Read Frank Rega's book St. Francis of Assisi and the Conversion of the Muslims for an excellent account of this part of his life. Arround 1220 Francesco also set up the 1st presepio (Nativity scene) in a cave near Greccio.

In 1224 he received the stigmata. 2 years later he died on the evening of 3 October 1226. He was declared a saint by Pope Gregory XI in 1228 (Mira Circa Nos ).

This is a very truncated bio of San Francesco. Besides Frank Rega's book I would recommend you read Little Flowers of St. Francis (Fioretti di San Francesco). (You can find an on-line edition here. NOTE: Not every edition contains the complete work.) The book includes the story of the Wolf of Gubbio & his preaching to the birds. This book was the basis for a 1950 movie The Flowers of St. Francis (Francesco, giullare di Dio). The film was recognized in 1995 as 1 of the greatest films ever made. Another book worth reading is G.K. Chesterton's bio, St. Francis of Assisi. In some ways it is more of a meditation than a simple biography.

At this point I need to mention a movie made in 1972. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (Fratello Sole Sorella Luna) was directed by Franco Zeffirelli. I have to admit that it was this movie where I had my in depth intro to San Francesco. I also have to say that in some ways it is deeply flawed. That was something I quickly found out as I learned more about the Poverello. The movie was the 1st to turn Francis into a hippie. It doesn't always accurately reflect what really happenned either. While there were problems & corruption in the Church at the time, this movie makes it look like it Francis was more in opposition to the Church rather than an obedient son. Despite this, the real message of San Francesco was not totally buried & came across. Parts of the movie were filmed in & arround Assisi. Because of the flaws, I would urge caution if you view this movie.

On the other hand, I can recommend the program on St. Francis done by Bob & Penny Lord as a part of their Super Saints series on EWTN.

I commented at the start about some so-called Franciscans who are New Age pagans in (occasionally) Franciscan habit. Happily, there are many sons & daughters of San Francesco who have stayed true to the Poverello & his love for the Church. Among these are the Poor Clares of the Perpetual Adoration found at Mother Angelica's Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, AL & at Our Lady of Solitude Monastery and Chapel, Black Canyon City, AZ. There are also the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word, Irondale AL & the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal based in New York City. & colleges like Franciscan University of Steubenville carry on his mission through education.