I am fairly certain that most people do not have that much knowledge about St. Francis of Assisi, the current Pope’s namesake, and since it was his feast day recently, let’s learn a bit about him.
Born and baptized in 1181 as Giovanni Bernardone, he was soon renamed Francesco due to his father’s Francophilia. Young Francesco experienced a privileged upbringing, his father being a successful businessman who provided everything he could ever ask for. He grew up to be widely popular with the townspeople and was expected to inherit his father’s textile business. As a young man in the throngs of the Middle Ages, however, Francesco was hungry for valor, so when nearby Perugia declared war on Assisi, he enlisted. Assisi was terribly defeated, and being a young son of a rich man, Francesco was held prisoner and ransomed after a year. The young soldier was not deterred because soon Pope Innocent III (remember that name) called for the Fourth Crusade to try to retake Jerusalem, and Francesco again joined, with a new suit of armor, of course.
Less than a day into his journey, Francesco encountered God in a dream. God told him to return home, and being a God-fearing man, he obliged. Back in Assisi, Francesco is now a humiliating outcast, a coward who could not be a day away from comfort. The greatest ire came from his own father. This was the start of Francesco’s conversion.
He started spending more time in solitude, surrounded by nature, and one day, he came across the dilapidated remains of the church of San Damiano and started to pray. Then, God came to him in a vision, saying, “Repair my church which is falling into ruins.” That was when Francesco started to beg to live and to supply his repair. To help fund his work, Francesco sold his father’s wares, which incensed his father to the point that he would bring his own son to the bishop. In front of the bishop and with the whole town in witness, Francesco not only returned the money he had to his father, but also the clothes he was wearing to the horrors of the crowd. That was the culmination of his conversion.
He continued working on San Damiano and started preaching, continuing to beg. Eventually, he started to gather followers, and he made it a point to his disciples to live the Gospel as faithfully as possible. Their lives were difficult, and they faced scorn, but over time, the citizenry started to open up to them. As his fraternity grew, Francesco decided to go to Rome to seek formal approval from the Pope. Innocent III (there he is again) immediately kicked the band of raggedy beggars out of his palace. Later, the Pope had a dream that a little friar was holding up the Church. Recognizing the significance of the dream, Innocent summoned Francesco back and approved the order.
As the years passed and the order grew, members became increasingly uncomfortable with the harshness of the rules. Francesco relinquished his power to his confrères. He received the stigmata, the wounds of Christ in his final years. He died on October 4, 1226, and less than two years later, he was canonized as the St. Francis that we now know.
He is considered the patron saint of all Franciscan orders. Many saints followed the rule of St. Francis. His contemporaries include St. Clare of Assisi and St. Anthony of Padua. Other well-known Franciscan saints are St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Bonaventure, St. Lawrence of Brindisi, St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, and Padre Pio among others. Native Wisconsinite Bl. Solanus Casey OFM Cap, if canonized, would be the first male, American-born saint.
Source: catholic.org