We open a special space within this century to speak exclusively about this great enlightened soul who was a true landmark in the History of Christianity. We speak of the one who not only preached the teachings of Jesus, but who lived His Gospel of love intensely as no one else did, Francis of Assisi, or as he is known within the Catholic Church, Saint Francis.

He is living proof that God never left humanity abandoned and exposed, and that the ship of planet Earth has always remained under the command of Jesus.

We had been, since the fifth century, in the Dark Ages, as historians call that period, which would extend until the fifteenth century. And it was in that window of time that Francis came into the world.

Tradition says that Jesus called John the Evangelist to return to the stage of the world in order to restore the message of the Gospel, which had been neglected because of great turmoil and because of a Church that was moving away from its original ideals, so that Christianity based on closeness, simplicity, love, brotherhood, and the living practice of the principles Jesus came to teach could be reestablished.

He was most likely born on September 26, 1182. What matters is that he came, and he came to continue the message of Jesus.

His mother was called Pica de Bourlemont, a noble woman of French origin. His father was called Pietro di Bernardone, a wealthy merchant. His mother gave him the name Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone.

The first very interesting story of his life concerns his birth, according to tradition. His mother was in labor all night, and he would not be born. In the morning, a beggar knocked at the door of the house, and when the servant answered, he told her to tell the lady that the child would not be born in a rich room, but that she should go to the stable of the house, because that was where the child would be born.

She went, even against the will of the father, who said he had a name to protect and that his son would not be born in the stable. She told her husband that she had spent the whole night suffering and that she would go down to the stable.

And it was in a stable that Francis was born, among animals and straw, just like Jesus. According to Catholic tradition, he is known as the Other Christ because he shaped his life, poverty, and spirituality in the image of Jesus, living a life based on that of the Master.

Until then, his name was not Francis. There are three hypotheses for why his name changed: first, his father was a wealthy merchant who sold very expensive fabrics, and the finest ones came from France, so Francesco. Second, because of his mother’s name, Pica, a French name, to honor her family. Third, during his adolescence, he liked to go to taverns, drink wine, and be with friends who called him Little Frenchman.

For most historians, his name, Francesco, was changed from the time of his birth. Others say it was changed later. Most likely, his name was changed because of the fabrics that came from France to his father’s shop. Therefore, his father changed his name, and he became Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone, rather than the name his mother had given him.

His father, being a wealthy merchant, wanted his son to follow in his footsteps in business, to be a great knight and fight in the Crusades, in the wars between neighboring cities, which were common at the time for supremacy in trade or economic power, or else to follow the religious life.

History tells us that Francis became fond of military life and truly wanted to be a knight. This pleased his father very much. Until then, he had lived like any young man, with the same problems, dreams, and aspirations. He frequented taverns, gathered with friends, and was no different from others. He enlisted in the army, but never went to the great Crusades, only to local battles between neighboring cities.

This was the period of feudalism, with small kingdoms and local lords. Cities had their own dependencies, each with its own laws and currencies, as if each city were an isolated country. At that time, Italy was completely fragmented, and cities went to war with one another for various interests. Therefore, Italy was a collection of city-states, not yet a country as it is today.

The first war in which Francis took part was against the city of Perugia, but Assisi was defeated. With that, his life began to change, because he was taken prisoner, and historians say he remained imprisoned in isolation for one hundred days. He was about nineteen years old.

During this period in prison, he began to pay attention to the people in the cells beside him, thin people, worn down, hungry, and cold. He began to reflect on the condition in which they all found themselves after fighting for a cause that had led them into a degrading situation without freedom. He then began to rethink his life’s purpose and started to pray. Historians say that when he received bread, he no longer ate it himself, but shared it with his fellow prisoners and began talking with them.

After one hundred days, his father paid bail to free him, since at that time it was common for nobles to pay bail for prisoners. He returned to Assisi, but he was no longer the same. His dream of becoming important had faded from his mind; he had changed, though not yet to the point of becoming the Francis we know today.

Even so, he enlisted again for a new war, this time against the city of Puglia, in southern Italy. When he entered the city of Spoleto, still far from his destination, his horse reared up and he heard a voice saying, “My son, whom do you wish to serve, God or men?” Francis then got off the horse and returned to Assisi. However, when a son becomes a deserter, he is no longer well received, especially by his father, for by such an attitude he had dishonored the family name.

Thus began very serious conflicts with his father, who was pointed out as having a deserter son. Francis began to be beaten a great deal by his father, who gave him very severe punishments, making him work in a very harsh way, wanting him to change. His mother, always by his side, suffered with him.

During this period, Francis entered a life of prayer and meditation. He began wandering through the meadows and fields of Assisi, speaking with birds and wolves. In the city of Gubbio there was a fierce wolf that terrorized everyone, and the people wanted to kill it. Francis told them not to, for he would speak with the wolf, and so he did. He understood that the wolf was hungry, which was why it frightened people. Francis began bringing food to the wolf, which stopped terrorizing the town and became a friend of the people of Gubbio.

Because of this, he came to be seen not only as a deserter but also as crazy, because he spoke with animals. On one occasion, a leper approached him, and for the first time, since in the past he would not allow such a person near him, he did not drive him away with harsh words, but said, “What once seemed disgusting to me now seems sweet. What do you want from me, my brother?” The leper was startled: “Your brother?” Francis answered yes, because they were all children of God. He was changing completely.

On another occasion, he entered a church that was almost in ruins, the church of San Damiano, and while praying, he stared fixedly at the crucifix there when he heard a voice that said to him, “My son, rebuild my Church, which is in ruins.” It was a call for the renewal of the Church itself, but at first he understood it as a command to rebuild that little ruined church materially.

He then gathered stones to restore the church, but there were very few, and he had no resources of his own. Historians say that he began taking fabrics from his father’s shop to sell and buy materials for rebuilding the church. Whether it happened exactly this way or not, the fact is that his intention was noble. After the restoration, he realized that it was not the material church he was meant to restore, but the Moral Church.

In this century, the Catholic Church was deeply distorted by the practices of indulgences, the Crusades, the sale of forgiveness, and by the Inquisition that was beginning. It was the message of Jesus that needed to be restored, the message of His Gospel. It was an awakening in his life. He would be a messenger of Christ and would preach the Good News wherever he went.

His proposal was somewhat different from the other mendicant orders that already existed, such as the Augustinians, the Gregorians, and the Dominicans, because Francis wanted to speak less and do more. This saying is still attributed to him: “Go, preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words.” While he cared for children, the sick, and the elderly, he spoke of the Gospel.

His father then made a complaint to the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the time. The bishop was called Guido, and he liked Francis. For that reason, he listened to the accused, something the Church did not usually do, except to give a person the opportunity to redeem themself. Thus, in the square of Assisi, around the year 1206, an ecclesiastical tribunal was established, with the prosecutor being Giovanni Pietro di Bernardone, the father, and the accused being his own son, Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone, twenty-four years old.

The accusation was that, in his father’s eyes, Francis was insane, because he spoke with animals, took his father’s things to sell and restore a ruined church, and because of this people spoke badly of the family. His father only wanted to get his son back, not to have him judged. The bishop then gave Francis the opportunity to defend himself.

He simply spoke of the love he had for his father and, looking into his eyes, thanked him for everything he had done for him until then. He said further that he had no way of returning the things he had taken, because he had used them for the rebuilding of the church, since he had misunderstood the order he had received, but whatever he still possessed at that moment he would return. Then he took off all the clothes he was wearing and handed them to his father, said goodbye to everyone, and became the Francis we know.

From then on, he would no longer be Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone, but simply Francis of Assisi, “The troubadour of God.” From then on, he would sing God as birds sing. Every day, he would speak of the Gospel. He became a minstrel of God, as some historians say. It was a very significant turning point in his life. He wanted people to return to the Christianity of when Jesus was still among us.

In the southern region of Assisi there was a small chapel in Santa Maria degli Angeli, at the curve of the Rivo Torto, so called because the river bent exactly where the chapel was located. Francis used it as the place to begin his work of spreading the Gospel, caring for the needy, and speaking of Jesus. He gave it the name Porziuncola, which means little portion. It was very tiny, could hardly hold anyone, and was very simple. Between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, an enormous basilica was built over the Porziuncola to protect it.

Later, north of Assisi, a sumptuous cathedral was built, made up of three churches, literally one above the other, and it bears the name Basilica of Saint Francis. With all due respect, it does not come close to Franciscan ideals, because it is much more a construction of the Church.

In one of these churches, the underground one, lie the remains of Francis and his closest friends. His coffin, very small, is made entirely of stone, because that is how he wanted it, in simplicity. Unfortunately, photographs are not allowed in that church, but what one feels inside is indescribable.

Francis of Assisi was not a revolutionary. He did not want to break with the Church. Every Franciscan revolution takes place in the soul. So much so that he had the idea of going to Pope Innocent III to speak with him. Then, while living in the surroundings of Santa Maria degli Angeli, other people began to join Francis and live according to Franciscan ideals.

His first companions were twelve. The first was Bernard of Quintavalle. He was a knight like Francis, who laid down his armor. The four closest to him, his confidants, who are buried alongside Francis, are Brother Rufino, Brother Angelo, Brother Masseo, and Brother Leo.

Francis and his companions went from Assisi to Rome on foot to meet Pope Innocent III. It should be remembered that this pope was one of the most severe the Catholic Church ever had, for under his authority the Albigensian Crusade took place, in which thousands of people died in southern France. However, he also did good things within the Church. But Innocent did not want to receive Francis.

They stayed there, waiting for the pope to change his mind. Through the intercession of a cardinal named John of Saint Paul, who eventually convinced the pope to reconsider, saying that perhaps it would be better to receive this young man and his companions, because maybe he was restoring the foundations of the Church.

Innocent slept and had a symbolic dream, involving the mother of churches, the Lateran Church, San Giovanni in Laterano, dedicated to Saint John and Saint John the Baptist. In the dream, he saw a young man holding up the pillar of the Church, and that young man was Francis. He woke up astonished and the next day ordered Francis to be brought to him.

Francis answered the pope that he wanted to live like Jesus and recited the Gospel of Matthew, chapter six, verses twenty-five to thirty-four. The pope told him that in his youth he had once had the same ideal, of building the Church without status, without money, without power, in pure simplicity, but that it was impossible. At that moment, Cardinal John of Saint Paul made the pope see that if what Francis wanted was impossible, then that would be the same as saying that living the Gospel was impossible. The pope then reflected and finally allowed Francis to live according to the teachings of Jesus.

They returned to Assisi and began to preach. At that time, to be a preacher it was necessary to have the pope’s consent. He established three rules for the conversion of anyone who became Franciscan: poverty, obedience, and chastity.

Later, three classes of Franciscans arose: the Order of Friars Minor, whose members possessed no material goods and obeyed chastity; the Poor Clares, composed only of women; and the secular class, whose members could be Franciscans but could also have a family.

Thus, the Franciscan Order grew very quickly throughout Europe. Francis’s magnetism was impressive, because he employed so much certainty, so much intensity, and so much authority in what he said and did that the Franciscan Order spread throughout the world.

Francis presented a proposal entirely contrary to everything one could imagine. His spiritual presence, his noble character, and his enlightened aura were the reason for the success of the order he created. Today, whoever visits the places where he lived can still feel his magnetism and his spiritual presence.

It is said that at the end of his life, Pope Innocent III had leprosy and was placed in a room apart from everyone else. He no longer gave orders, and there was no one to care for him. Francis went to visit him and, seeing him almost entirely deformed, cared for him until the end.

Francis met the Offreducci family, and one of the daughters, the young Chiara, Clare, when she heard Francis speak, became enchanted by him. The two lived an intense love, but a love of the soul. Clare wanted to follow him, but there was no place for young women in the Franciscan order. With his help, she created the Order of the Poor Clares. Her sisters and her mother eventually went to live with her in religious life.

Francis visited Clare whenever possible, and they exchanged ideas and spoke about difficulties. They became Brother Sun and Sister Moon.

In 1219, Francis decided to join a crusade, not in order to fight, but to speak with Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil, nephew of the caliph Salah ad-Din. The intention of that crusade was to conquer Egypt, which dominated Palestine, and thus to retake the Holy Land.

Francis shared his purpose with the cardinals, and they advised him not to proceed as he intended, because he would end up dying, but he went anyway.

Historians say that when he approached the sultan’s camp, the warriors came with spears to kill him, but Al-Malik came out of his tent and stopped them, because he had dreamed about Francis and allowed him to enter.

In the dialogue that took place between the two, Francis said that he had come in the name of peace to present Jesus to the sultan. “Which Jesus?” asked the sultan. “The one who kills? The Jesus who turned Jerusalem into a pool of blood? The Jesus of the knights who set fires and throw salt on the ground so that nothing may grow?”

“No,” said Francis, “I came to present to you the Jesus of the Beatitudes, the Jesus who was transfigured on Tabor, the Jesus who was crucified between two thieves, the Jesus who was the Prince of Peace.” The sultan said that this Jesus he did not know and asked to know Him.

Then Al-Malik, in turn, spoke of the prophet Muhammad, the Quran, the Surahs, and Francis listened. They made a plan for peace, which unfortunately has not been achieved to this day, but which Francis attempted in 1219. The sultan gave him safe-conduct to go wherever he wished. He then returned and spoke with the cardinals about the peace plan, but he was not heard.

Francis became so saddened that he went walking through the Holy Land to know the places where his Master had lived. Afterwards, he returned to Assisi. Possibly because of so much desert sand in his eyes, he ended up developing trachoma in both. There was no cure for such an infection, and what was done was to burn the eyes so that the infection would not spread to the rest of the body.

Francis made a poem for the fire that would burn his eyes. “Oh, Brother Fire, you who illuminate, who bring beauty, who brighten places, you must burn me. I know I have an infection, but when you burn me, burn me gently, so that I may not feel so much pain. Fulfill your role.” He had his eyes burned and remained faithful to Jesus.

Before, however, losing his eyesight, when he was still returning to Assisi, passing through the town of Greccio in the province of Rieti, Italy, inspired by the visit he had made to the Holy Land and wishing to recall the birth of Jesus, he created the first Nativity scene in the history of Christmas, using real people and animals, in the year 1223. The Nativity scene was set up on top of a hill and was seen by all the local residents. Even today one may visit this place, which without explanation remains impregnated with Francis’s magnetism.

When he finally arrived in Assisi, he felt betrayed, because the representative of his order, Brother Elias, in his absence had replaced an original rule. From then on, it would be permitted to have money and positions of authority. Francis was extremely saddened.

In 1224, he climbed a mountain near Assisi, Mount Alverna. On its summit, he prayed to Jesus, wanting to know where he had gone wrong, whether he had followed every line of the Gospel. And while he prayed, he received the wounds of Jesus, in a phenomenon called stigmatization, that is, the marks of the nails in his hands and feet.

He heard Jesus’s answer, that he could only do the part that belonged to him and that he was not responsible for what others did. Sister Clare also told him that it would even be pride to want to take responsibility for others, but that he should fulfill his own part, and that would be enough.

Then Francis’s final hour arrived. On October 3, 1226, he called Clare and Brother Leo and asked them to take him to the Porziuncola, because it was there that he wanted to die. He asked them to remove his clothes and place him on the ground, because he wanted to return to true life in the way he was. And so, blind, thin, with stomach problems because he scarcely ate, he died. And as he was passing away, the birds of Alviano, with whom he used to speak, came to him and began to sing.

The Church considers the day of Saint Francis to be October 4, 1226, the day on which he was buried, but the correct date is the third. Cardinal Ugolino became Pope Gregory IX and officially established the Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition. In 1228 he canonized Francis as a saint, making him Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron of Nature and the patron of Italy.

When Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires chose to adopt the name Francis, in a certain way he brought all the magnetism of the saint to his pontificate. Just as the current pope bears the name Leo XIV, with the magnetism of Brother Leo for his pontificate.

FRANCIS OF ASSISI, GUIDE OF HUMANITY!!!