Since the college of Cardinal’s have elected the new Pope, and he has taken the name of Francis the 1st, I decided to do a little research on St. Francis.  What I found was very interesting.  I understand that Pope Frances the 1st lived a very modest life, refusing to live in the Cardinal’s residence, choosing instead a modest apartment.  And he rode the bus wherever he went.  He also had a good relationship with the Jewish population.  He spoke out loudly against abortion and euthanasia, even clashing with the President of Argentina at times over liberal policies.  I think given this, it’s not a great surprise that he chose the name of Francis.  Let’s get into St. Francis.

St. Frances Of Assisi/ Wikipedia

St. Francis of Assisi (Italian: Francesco d’Assisi, born Giovanni di Bernardone; 1181/1182 – October 3, 1226) was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men’s Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis for men and women not able to live the lives of itinerant preachers followed by the early members of the Order of Friars Minor or the monastic lives of the Poor Clares. Though he was never ordained to the Catholic priesthood, Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in history.

Francis was the son of a wealthy foreign cloth merchant in Assisi, and he lived the high-spirited life typical of a wealthy young man, even fighting as a soldier for Assisi. While going off to war in 1204, Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for his worldly life. In 1205, while praying in the Church of San Damiano just outside Assisi, Saint Francis of Assisi reported a vision in which an image of Jesus came alive and told him: “Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins.“

This vision lead Saint Francis to renounce the outlook of his merchant family, embrace poverty and form the Franciscan order. For several centuries thereafter, the Franciscans became a key force in the renewal of the reach of Christianity.  On a pilgrimage to Rome, he joined the poor in begging at St. Peter’s Basilica.  The experience moved him to live in poverty.Francis returned home, began preaching on the streets, and soon amassed a following. His Order was authorized by Pope Innocent III in 1210. He then founded the Order of Poor Clares, which became an enclosed religious order for women, as well as the Order of Brothers and Sisters of Penance (commonly called the Third Order).

In 1219, he went to Egypt in an attempt to convert the Sultan to put an end to the conflict of the Crusades. By this point, the Franciscan Order had grown to such an extent that its primitive organizational structure was no longer sufficient. He returned to Italy to organize the Order. Once his community was authorized by the Pope, he withdrew increasingly from external affairs. In 1223, Francis arranged for the first Christmas manger scene. In 1224, he received the stigmata, making him the first recorded person to bear the wounds of Christ’s Passion. He died during the evening hours of October 3, 1226, while listening to a reading he had requested of Psalm 140.

On July 16, 1228, he was pronounced a saint by Pope Gregory IX. He is known as the patron saint of animals, the environment, and is one of the two patron saints of Italy (with Catherine of Siena). It is customary for Catholic and Anglican churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of October 4.He is also known for his love of the Eucharist,  his sorrow during the Stations of the Cross, and for the creation of the Christmas creche or Nativity Scene.

While he was praying on the mountain of Verna, during a forty-day fast in preparation for Michaelmas(September 29), Francis is said to have had a vision on or about September 14, 1224, the Feast of theExaltation of the Cross, as a result of which he received the stigmata. Brother Leo, who had been with Francis at the time, left a clear and simple account of the event, the first definite account of the phenomenon of stigmata. “Suddenly he saw a vision of a seraph, a six-winged angel on a cross. This angel gave him the gift of the five wounds of Christ.” Suffering from these stigmata and fromtrachoma, Francis received care in several cities (Siena, Cortona, Nocera) to no avail. In the end, he was brought back to a hut next to the Porziuncola. Here, in the place where it all began, feeling the end approaching, he spent the last days of his life dictating his spiritual testament. He died on the evening of October 3, 1226, singing Psalm 142(141) – “Voce mea ad Dominum”.

The vision of St. Frances

This is the habit of St. Frances:

So as you can see, St. Francis dedicated his life to Christ, and the command to go and take the Gospel to all, and also Jesus’s commands to the disciples not to take any money or material things with them.  He was the first to receive the ‘marks’ (stigmata) of Christ’s crucifixion.  He tried to form an alliance in the middle east to end the crusades.  He was a very dedicated man of the Cloth.  Any way, I just thought a little research on the man that this Pope took his name from.  Will he follow in his footsteps?  Only time will tell.

There is a prayer that is attributed to St. Frances, it’s a very humbling prayer, however, the prayer in it’s present form can’t be traced back further than 1912.  Here is the prayer:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

Again, just a little history on St. Frances.  And time will tell, as I’m sure we’ll all be watching to see exactly what the New Pope Frances the 1st will have as his agenda.

You can also read about St. Frances of Assisi/Catholic Encyclopedia.  It follows more of a historic narrative and fills in some dialogue, but basically the same information.

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