Who is Saint Francis of Assisi? The secrets of the most famous saint in Italy

St. Francis of Assisi abandoned a life of luxury for a life dedicated to Christianity after hearing the voice of God, who commanded him to rebuild the Christian church and live in poverty. He is the patron saint of ecologists.

Who was Saint Francis of Assisi?
Born in Italy around 1181, Saint Francis of Assisi was famous for drinking and partying in his youth. After fighting in a battle between Assisi and Perugia, Francesco was captured and imprisoned for ransom. He spent almost a year in prison - waiting for his father's payment - and, according to legend, he began to receive visions from God. After his release from prison, Francis heard the voice of Christ, who told him to repair the Church. Christian and live a life of poverty. As a result, he abandoned his life of luxury and became a devotee of the faith, his reputation spread throughout the Christian world.

Later in life, Francis reportedly received a vision that left him with the stigmata of Christ - signs reminiscent of the wounds Jesus Christ suffered when he was crucified - making Francis the first person to receive such holy wounds. He was canonized as a saint on July 16, 1228. During his life he also developed a deep love for nature and animals and is known as the patron saint of the environment and animals; his life and words have had a lasting resonance with millions of followers around the world. Every October, many animals around the world are blessed on his feast day.

Early years of luxury
Born around 1181 in Assisi, Duchy of Spoleto, Italy, St. Francis of Assisi, although revered today, began his life as a confirmed sinner. His father was a wealthy cloth merchant who owned agricultural land around Assisi and his mother was a beautiful Frenchwoman. Francesco was not in need during his youth; he was spoiled and indulged in good food, wine and wild parties. By the age of 14, he had dropped out of school and became known as a rebellious teenager who often drank, partyed, and broke the city curfew. He was also known for his charm and vanity.

In these privileged environments, Francesco d'Assisi learned the skills of archery, wrestling and horse riding. He was expected to follow his father into the family textile business, but was bored with the prospect of living in the textile trade. Instead of planning a future as a merchant, he began to daydream about a future as a knight; the knights were medieval action heroes, and if Francis had any ambition, he had to be a war hero like them. It won't be long before the opportunity to wage war draws near.

In 1202 war broke out between Assisi and Perugia, and Francesco enthusiastically took his place in the cavalry. He didn't know then, his experience with the war would change him forever.

War and imprisonment
Francis and the men of Assisi were harshly attacked and, in the face of higher numbers, took flight. The entire battlefield was soon covered with the bodies of slaughtered and mutilated men, screaming in agony. Most of the surviving troops of Assisi were immediately put to death.

Unqualified and without combat experience, Francis was quickly captured by enemy soldiers. Dressed like an aristocrat and wearing expensive new armor, he was considered worthy of a decent ransom, and the soldiers decided to spare his life. He and the other wealthy troops were taken as prisoners, led to a damp underground cell. Francis would spend nearly a year in such miserable conditions - waiting for his father's payment - during which he may have contracted a serious illness. Also during this time, he would later report, he began receiving visions from God.

After the war
After a year of negotiations, Francis' ransom was accepted and he was released from prison in 1203. When he returned to Assisi, however, Francis was a very different man. Upon his return, he was gravely ill in both mind and body, a battle-weary war victim.

One day, as legend has it, while riding a horse in the local countryside, Francis met a leper. Before the war, Francis would have fled from the leper, but on this occasion his behavior was very different. Seeing the leper as a symbol of moral conscience - or as Jesus incognito, according to some religious scholars - she hugged and kissed him, later describing the experience as a feeling of sweetness in the mouth. After this incident, Francesco felt an indescribable freedom. His previous lifestyle had lost all its appeal.

Later, Francis, now in his early twenties, began to focus on God. Instead of working, he spent more and more time in a remote mountain retreat and in quiet old churches around Assisi, praying, seeking answers, and helping lepers. During this period, while praying in front of an ancient Byzantine crucifix in the church of San Damiano, Francis allegedly heard the voice of Christ, who told him to rebuild the Christian Church and to live a life of extreme poverty. Francis obeyed and devoted himself to Christianity. He began preaching around Assisi and was soon joined by 12 faithful followers.

Some viewed Francis as a fool or fool, but others viewed him as one of the greatest examples of how to live the Christian ideal since the time of Jesus Christ himself. Whether he was truly touched by God, or simply a man who misinterpreted hallucinations caused by mental illness and / or poor health, Francis of Assisi quickly became famous throughout the Christian world.

Devotion to Christianity
After his epiphany in the church of San Damiano, Francesco experienced another decisive moment in his life. To raise money to rebuild the Christian church, he sold a piece of cloth from his father's shop, along with his horse. His father became furious upon learning of his son's actions and subsequently dragged Francis in front of the local bishop. The bishop told Francis to return his father's money, which his reaction was extraordinary: he took off his clothes and, together with them, returned the money to his father, declaring that God was now the only father he recognized. This event is credited as Francis's final conversion and there is no indication that Francis and his father ever spoke again afterwards.

The bishop gave Francis a rough tunic and dressed in these new humble clothes, Francis left Assisi. Unfortunately for him, the first people he met on the street were a group of dangerous thieves, who beat him severely. Despite his injuries, Francis was elated. From now on he would live according to the gospel.

Francis' embrace of Christ-like poverty was a radical notion at the time. The Christian church was tremendously rich, just like the people who ran it, which concerned Francis and many others, who felt that long-standing apostolic ideals had been eroded. Francis embarked on a mission to restore the original values ​​of Jesus Christ to the now decaying church. With his incredible charisma, he attracted thousands of followers to him. They listened to Francis' sermons and joined his way of life; his followers became known as Franciscan friars.

Continuously pushing in the pursuit of spiritual perfection, Francis soon began preaching in up to five villages a day, teaching a new kind of emotional and personal Christian religion that ordinary people could understand. He even went as far as preaching to animals, which garnered criticism from some and earned him the nickname "fool of God." But Francis's message was spread far and wide and thousands of people were fascinated by what they heard.

Reportedly, in 1224 Francis received a vision that left him with the stigmata of Christ - signs that reminded of the wounds Jesus Christ suffered when he was crucified, through his hands and the open wound of the spear in his side. This made Francis the first person to receive the holy wounds of the stigmata. They would remain visible for the rest of his life. Due to his previous work in treating lepers, some believe the wounds were actually symptoms of leprosy.

Why is St. Francis the patron saint of animals?
Today, St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of ecologists, a title that honors his boundless love for animals and nature.

Death and inheritance
As Francis approached his death, many predicted that he was a saint in the making. As his health began to deteriorate more rapidly, Francis returned home. Knights were sent from Assisi to protect him and to ensure that none of the neighboring villages took him away (the body of a saint was seen, at the time, as an extremely precious relic that would bring, among many things, glory to the country where rested).

Francis of Assisi died on October 3, 1226, at the age of 44, in Assisi, Italy. Today, Francis has a lasting resonance with millions of followers around the world. He was canonized as a saint only two years after his death, on July 16, 1228, by his former protector, Pope Gregory IX. Today, St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of ecologists, a title that honors his boundless love for animals and nature. In 2013 Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose to honor St. Francis by taking his name, becoming Pope Francis.