1181–1226
Italian friar who founded the Franciscan order, known for radical poverty, love of nature, and the first recorded stigmata.
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone was born in 1181 in Assisi, Italy, the son of a wealthy cloth merchant. After a worldly youth that included military service and capture in war, he experienced a series of visions and conversions in his early twenties. The decisive moment came in 1208 when he heard Matthew 10:7-10 read at Mass — Jesus' command to the disciples to 'take nothing for the journey.' Francis took the command literally. He renounced his inheritance publicly in the Assisi piazza, stripping off his clothes and giving them to his father, declaring that henceforth he had only one Father, in heaven. He began rebuilding ruined chapels in the Umbrian countryside with his own hands and gathered followers who shared his commitment to absolute poverty and itinerant preaching. By 1209, he had Pope Innocent III's approval for a new religious order — the Friars Minor, the 'lesser brothers,' eventually known as Franciscans. Francis preached to animals (most famously to birds at Bevagna), tamed a wolf at Gubbio, composed the first Christian poetry in Italian vernacular (the 'Canticle of the Sun'), created the first Christmas nativity scene at Greccio in 1223 (sparking a Christmas tradition that continues today), and received the stigmata at Mount La Verna in 1224 — the first stigmatized Christian in church history, predating Padre Pio by 700 years. He died on October 3, 1226, lying naked on the bare ground at his request. He was canonized just two years later. Francis is one of the most beloved saints in church history; Pope Francis took his name on election in 2013, the first pope to do so.
Francis's life is full of miracles: the stigmata (1224 — visible wounds matching Christ's that bled for two years until his death); preaching to birds at Bevagna (the birds gathered and listened until he blessed them and dismissed them); taming the wolf of Gubbio (a wolf that had been terrorizing the town came when Francis called, accepted his offered hand, and lived peacefully thereafter); multiplying food during a famine; healing the sick; creating the first nativity scene at Greccio (1223), where witnesses reportedly saw the Christ-child appear in the manger. After his death, his relics continue to be associated with healings, especially of physical disabilities.
“Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.”Often attributed to Francis but likely apocryphal — captures the spirit of his teaching.
“Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope.”From the Peace Prayer, also attributed to Francis but actually composed in the 20th century.
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”Opening of the Peace Prayer.
“Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Sun, who brings the day; and through whom you give us light. Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars.”From Francis's Canticle of the Sun.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) was an Italian friar who founded the Franciscan order on a commitment to radical poverty and itinerant preaching. Born to a wealthy cloth merchant, he renounced his inheritance to follow Christ literally. He received the stigmata in 1224 — the first stigmatized Christian — and died at 44. He created the first Christmas nativity scene, composed the Canticle of the Sun, and is patron of animals, ecology, and the environment.
Saint Francis of Assisi's feast day is October 4, the date of his death in 1226. The day is widely celebrated with the blessing of animals at parishes (recalling Francis's love of all creation), special prayers for the environment, and observances of the Transitus on October 3 (commemorating his death). Pope Francis was elected on March 13, 2013, taking his name from this saint — the first pope to do so.
Francis's love for animals and all creation is one of his defining traits. He preached to birds at Bevagna (with the birds reportedly listening attentively until dismissed), tamed a wolf that had been terrorizing the town of Gubbio, and composed the Canticle of the Sun celebrating 'Brother Sun,' 'Sister Moon,' and all creatures as God's family. Many parishes observe his feast day with the blessing of animals — congregants bring pets to be blessed in his memory.
Yes — according to multiple eyewitness accounts and the testimony of his closest companions, Francis received the stigmata at Mount La Verna in September 1224. He had been fasting and praying for 40 days. During a vision of a seraph, the marks of Christ's crucifixion — visible wounds in his hands, feet, and side — appeared on his body and remained for the last two years of his life. He tried to hide them but they were witnessed by multiple people. Francis was the first Christian to receive the stigmata; Padre Pio in the 20th century was the first priest.