Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)

October 4

When Franco Zeffirelli’s Brother Sun, Sister Moon was released (1972), people were shocked by the movie’s graphic nudity in the dramatic conversion scene. Son of a wealthy merchant, Francis’ aimless adolescence ended when a failed military expedition led to his imprisonment and complete breakdown. Once home, Francis rediscovered God in the beauty of nature and the ugliness of human suffering, caring for lepers, praying in the little church of San Damiano, whose crucified Jesus he heard calling, “Repair my house, Francis, which is falling into ruins.” Francis sold his possessions—and his father’s—to fulfill this command. When his father objected, Francis disrobed: “I return the clothes, your name, and all you gave me: God alone is my Father now.” Later, the pope would dream of a ragged friar stretching forth a single hand to prop up the crumbling papal Cathedral of Saint John Lateran. Francis indeed helped rebuild the universal Church, founding the Friars Minor (Franciscans), dying at a young forty-four, bearing the stigmata of the Christ whose living icon he remains—in the Church and far beyond it.

—Peter Scagnelli, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.