St. Francis Of Assisi Research Paper

St. Francis of Assisi was born in Umbria, in 1811. Growing up, Francis enjoyed a very rich easy life because of his father’s wealth. Francis was loved by everyone. He was constantly happy, and a born leader. Whenever Francis was picky, people didn’t mind. If he was sick, people took care of him. Even from a young age, Francis was in love with French culture. He loved the songs of France, the romance of France, and especially the church. Francis had a different idea of life than his father.

Instead of becoming a man of business, or a cloth merchant like his father was, Francis wanted nobleness, and what better way to pursue nobleness, than to be a knight? Francis achieved his first attempt at the military when he declared war on his longtime enemy, the nearby town of Perugia. Most of the troops from Assisi were killed in the fight, only the wealthy were kept as prisoners of war. Francis was chained to a dark dungeon, with little food or water.

Still, Francis never seemed to despair, for he knew that God was with him.

After Francis was released he heard the voice of God in a dream and realized that this was his call to holiness. He went off to a cave and wept for his sins. He then returned home and gave up his dream to be a noble knight. One day while riding through the countryside, Francis came upon a leper. Francis leaped down from his horse and kissed the hand of the leper, and went back on his stroll. When Francis turned around he found that the leper vanished, this was God’s testing Francis’s

faith.

While searching for conversion, he decided to go to the church at San Damiano. While he was praying there, he heard Jesus on the crucifix speak to him. Jesus told Francis to repair his church, he continued to what he thought was considered God’s call. He rebuilt the San Damiano church with his own hands. Francis never intended in founding a religious order, but Francis being the leader that he was, people tended to be his flock and him their Shepard. Francis’ brotherhood included all of God’s creations. Francis was extremely fond of nature and animals. He adored God’s canvas because God himself had painted it.

There is a famous story that involved Francis and a wolf. There was a wolf that terrorized a village and ate many of the townspeople. Francis talked and convinced the wolf into never killing again. The wolf became the village pet, from that day forward the wolf was treated with respect and had plenty to eat. Francis and his followers were also very humble. They denied any money and refused to have any possessions. When asked why they refused to have any possessions, Francis said, “If we had any possessions we should need weapons and laws to defend them.” Francis continued to spread the gospel, and to fast, and pray whenever he could. After many years of poverty and wandering, Francis became horribly ill. He had finally lost his sense of sight, months later he died on October 4, 1226, at the age of 45. Francis is considered the founder of all of the Franciscan orders and the patron saint of animals.

St. Francis of Assisi is by far my favorite saint, and is, in fact, my patron saint for my confirmation journey. I think that Francis was such an influential man at his time, and even today. He not only loved nature, but he also tried to be more like the poor. He and his followers refused to have any possessions, treated coins as pebbles, and only begged when they needed to. St. Francis of Assisi had the gift of understanding the world around him. He was able to see through the facts and see a crisper image of what life was supposed to be. St. Francis will continue to look over those who are poor in spirit, and who love God’s creation just as much as he did.