Many people enjoy reading biographies for the insight they provide into the lives of interesting individuals. Reading a Saint Francis of Assisi biography reveals more about the life of a medieval saint. An author writing about him would have much material to draw from as several of his disciples wrote about him and there are also poems, letters and liturgical writings to examine.
This was a man who lived a simple life, embracing poverty and caring for the poor and the ill. He was also known for his love of nature and animals of all kinds. The young man, however, bore little resemblance to the one that would later influence so many others by his spiritual example.
He was born in a hill-town in Umbria where his father was a wealthy merchant and as a young man his father gave him plenty of money to spend on clothing and entertainment. He did not take much interest in learning or in the business of his father. He was described at this stage of his life as gallant, handsome and courteous with a ready wit.
It took becoming a prisoner for a year during a petty civil war as well as bouts with illness to start turning his attention to more spiritual matters. An encounter with a leper where he overcame his revulsion to give him money was a turning point in his life. He started devoting all his time and attention to spiritual matters.
His beliefs eventually lead to him cutting himself off from his family and he wandered the highways, singing the praises of God and speaking to all about the love of God and the need for repentance. His beliefs were so sincere that a number of people started following him. One of his early disciples was a rich merchant who sold all his goods, gave the money to the poor and joined him.
Papal approval was received and the name Little Brothers (Friars Minor) was given to the order. The first Franciscan convent was formed, consisting of small huts with a hedge around them, built in grounds of the chapel of Porzuincola. This was a chapel Francis had helped to restore. Soon many more were attracted to the order and other communities began springing up all over.
He had a burning desire to evangelize infidels and pursued this but when he returned from his missions, he found that changes had been made to the order that he felt violated his fundamental idea. These changes were regarded as necessary by the brothers to try to bring more organization to an ever growing order.
Some time before his death in 1226 at the age of only 44 or 45 he was praying on the mountainside when he saw a vision and stigmata appeared on his body. One of the brothers who was with him at the time described a wound in his right side and nails in both his hands and feet. This is just one incident in the life of a remarkable man who not only manage to inspire his contemporaries but whose life story still has much interest for modern readers.
This was a man who lived a simple life, embracing poverty and caring for the poor and the ill. He was also known for his love of nature and animals of all kinds. The young man, however, bore little resemblance to the one that would later influence so many others by his spiritual example.
He was born in a hill-town in Umbria where his father was a wealthy merchant and as a young man his father gave him plenty of money to spend on clothing and entertainment. He did not take much interest in learning or in the business of his father. He was described at this stage of his life as gallant, handsome and courteous with a ready wit.
It took becoming a prisoner for a year during a petty civil war as well as bouts with illness to start turning his attention to more spiritual matters. An encounter with a leper where he overcame his revulsion to give him money was a turning point in his life. He started devoting all his time and attention to spiritual matters.
His beliefs eventually lead to him cutting himself off from his family and he wandered the highways, singing the praises of God and speaking to all about the love of God and the need for repentance. His beliefs were so sincere that a number of people started following him. One of his early disciples was a rich merchant who sold all his goods, gave the money to the poor and joined him.
Papal approval was received and the name Little Brothers (Friars Minor) was given to the order. The first Franciscan convent was formed, consisting of small huts with a hedge around them, built in grounds of the chapel of Porzuincola. This was a chapel Francis had helped to restore. Soon many more were attracted to the order and other communities began springing up all over.
He had a burning desire to evangelize infidels and pursued this but when he returned from his missions, he found that changes had been made to the order that he felt violated his fundamental idea. These changes were regarded as necessary by the brothers to try to bring more organization to an ever growing order.
Some time before his death in 1226 at the age of only 44 or 45 he was praying on the mountainside when he saw a vision and stigmata appeared on his body. One of the brothers who was with him at the time described a wound in his right side and nails in both his hands and feet. This is just one incident in the life of a remarkable man who not only manage to inspire his contemporaries but whose life story still has much interest for modern readers.
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