In a previous post, I discussed the visit made by Pope Francis to Iraq by Pope Francis early in March, and his efforts to reach out to Muslims and other religious groups.  The pope has also been known for his care for the poor and the disadvantaged, and his focus on God’s love and mercy.  He even wrote a book called The Name of God is Mercy.

It is known that Pope Francis named himself after St. Francis of Assisi, a man held in high esteem in the history of the Church because his life was a model of selflessness and an unquestionable reflection of his love of Christ.  He is the founder of the Franciscan monastic order which had a significant impact on the Catholic Church at a time it was overtaken by corruption.

Francis of Assisi is known not only for his care for the poor, but also his total embrace of a life of poverty.  But similarities between him and the pope are also seen in the fact that they both reached out to Islam.  St. Francis did so at a time the ugliness of the Crusades made overtures between the two religions unthinkable.  Isn’t it amazing that not much has changed since then?

Francis was born in 1182 in the Italian town of Assisi, north of Rome.  His father, Pietro Bernadone, was a wealthy merchant who had married a pious French woman named Pica.  Their son was born while Pietro was on a business trip, and Pica named him Giovanni in honor of John the Baptist.  But apparently Pietro, whose entire focus was on wealth and social status, had no use for religion and considered John the Baptist an ancient lunatic holy man.  He renamed the boy Francesco.  He wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, build the family fortune and, perhaps, buy his way into nobility.  Therefore, it is easy to imagine that the boy grew up in an atmosphere of tension between the materialism of a father and the spirituality of a mother.

Growing up, Francis was the richest youth in town and was rather spoiled.  He was generous and attracted friends who ate and drank with him.  In those days, the Church itself was not equipped to provide moral guidance to young people, since the clergy was as decadent as the lay population.  Pagan behavior was common even among the clergy.  Gluttony, orgies and superstitions were part of normal life.  It is even said that Francis, with his father’s money, bought the friendship of Assisi’s young nobles and “led many a wild evening.”  Innocent III, who was the pope at the time, denounced the immorality in the Church with little success.

In 1202, Assisi declared war against Perugia, a neighboring town.  In his push toward nobility, Francis wore an armor bought for him by his father and joined fellow “knights” in battle.  Perugia won and Francis spent a year in meditation in its dungeon.  In 1204, he joined the army of Pope Innocent III as a volunteer (Yes, popes were statesmen with armies!).  It is at this time that, lying in bed with a fever, he thought he heard a voice asking him: “Why do you desert the Lord for the servant, the Prince for his vassal?” He said “Lord, what do you wish me to do?” The voice answered: “Go back to your home; there it shall be told you what you are to do.”  He then left the army and went back to Assisi.

At this point, Francis was no longer interested in his father’s business.  While praying at the poor chapel of St. Damian in February 1207, he thought he heard the voice of Christ accepting him as his servant.  From then on, he dedicated himself to a new life.  It is said that one day, he met a leper who was asking for help “for the love of God.” At first, he drove him away.  But then, overcome with grief, he ran after the man, gave him all the gold in his purse, and kissed his hand (some say he kissed the man’s rotting lips).

Francis now turned from squandering money on young nobles to wasting money on the poor, as his father saw it.  That was the beginning of a major conflict between them, and at the end, Francis returned to his father everything he owed him, including the clothes he was wearing.  He went to the St Damian chapel and started rebuilding it with his own hands, made a hermit robe for himself, and went from door to door, begging for food.  People started joining him in the work.

In Matthew 10:7-10, Jesus says to his disciples:

“As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts — no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.”

Following these words, Francis started standing in public places and preaching a gospel of poverty despite being ridiculed.  He ate little.  He urged people to sell their possessions and give the money to the poor.  The bishop of Assisi declared his demands too drastic.  But soon, twelve men offered to follow him and made cabins of branches where they lived.  They wore brown robes and lived in poverty, and every day, they went out barefoot to preach.  This was the beginning of a monastic movement involved in society, unlike the old monks who had chosen to isolate themselves from the world.

Francis’ early followers called themselves Friars Minor, as they saw themselves as brothers rather than priests, and the least of Christ’s servants.  They valued humility and did not seek titles, but submitted to priests in the Church.  They served each other in their community, and did manual work.  At the time he was growing up, Francis had learned Italian and French from his parents, and Latin from his parish priest, but had not pursued further studies.  He discouraged his followers from intellectual activity, so that they could not even own books.  To him, secular intellectual study could only be used to advance one’s wealth and social status.  The friars only sought to show the love of God to others by their deeds.  Singing was an important part of their preaching.  Following Francis’ example, they shared what they had with anybody who happened to have even less than they did.  They were often taken advantage of.  They were derided, robbed and beaten.  Their humility and refusal to retaliate often led offenders to repent from their wrongful deeds against them.

Francis did not just love humans.  He loved all of God’s creation: animals, plants, inanimate objects.  He preached to birds and animals, and according to legend, he convinced a wolf to stop eating children.  He was a poet who saw all of God’s creatures as his brothers.  His Canticle to the Sun praised God for Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Wind, Sister Water, Brother Fire, Sister Mother Earth, etc.

In 1210, Francis and his disciples went to Rome and appeared before Pope Innocent III to request permission to start a religious order.  At first, the pope refused to give his approval, commenting that the ascetic life the requesters submitted themselves to would be difficult to maintain by later generations.  But Francis’ persistence overcame his reluctance, and the friars were given a small chapel, the chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, near Assisi.  They built for themselves huts around the chapel, and they became the first monastery of the First Order of St. Francis.  At this point, the movement began to grow considerably, and a branch of the order catering to women, the Second Order of St. Francis, was even added to it.

In their preaching, the Franciscans did not ask their audiences to make vows of chastity and poverty.  They urged them to fear and honor God, praise and bless him, repent, abstain from evil, persevere in doing good.  Their impact on local populations grew beyond Assisi.  It is reported, for example, that Francis’ preaching led feuding factions in the town of Siena to stop fighting for some time.  However, as he was now traveling to various parts of Italy, he contracted malaria, and his health began to deteriorate.

In 1212, Francis decided to go to Syria in order to convert Muslims.  Apparently, sailing conditions forced him to return to Italy before he reached his destination, but according to legend, he achieved some success.  He is also said to have gone to Spain in an attempt to convert the Moors.  There, he became ill and was brought back to Assisi by his disciples.

Francis went on a mission to Egypt during a bloody crusade.  There, he walked unarmed to the camp of the Muslim army in Damietta, and had conversations with the sultan.  The interaction did not result in a conversion, but led to mutual respect between the two men, and Francis was allowed to travel safely back to the Christian camp.  He then witnessed, with horror, the massacre of the Muslim populations by those who called themselves soldiers of Christ, and returned to Assisi with great sadness.

Meanwhile, his movement had kept growing, bringing new challenges to his leadership after his return.  He made concessions relaxing monastic rules, and eventually resigned from his leadership position to dedicate himself to a life of contemplation, asceticism and prayer.

On September 14, 1224, as he was fasting and praying, he had a vision of the Crucified Christ.  After the vision, his feet and hands had wounds similar to Jesus’ wounds from the nails on the cross, the so-called stigmata.  Francis was 45 years-old when he died on October 3, 1226.  He was named a saint by the Church two years later.  It is said that before his death, he expressed some regret for his asceticism, saying he had “offended his brother the body.”  The Franciscan order had 5000 members at the time of his death, distributed over Hungary, Germany, England, France and Spain.