San Francesco, the true story of the patron saint of Italy. Who was he really in short?

Francis of Assisiborn in 1181 and died in 1226was an Italian religious man and poet, venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. He stripped himself of all his riches to follow a pauperistic ideal of life and founded the Order of Friars Minor. It is therefore known as “the poor man” of Assisi. In 1219 met the sultan of Egyptal-Malik al-Kamil, during the fifth crusade and, returning to Assisi, started the tradition of creche. He was also the author of literary works, including the famous Song of Creatures. According to the hagiographies, in 1224 he received the stigmata on the wrists and feet. He died on the evening of October 3, 1226 and was canonized in 1228 by Pope Gregory IX. The day of Saint Francis is celebrated on October 4and not the 3rd, because in the Middle Ages it was believed that the day began at sunset on the previous day. Today Francis is venerated as patron saint of Italywild animals and various categories of people (poets, traders and others).

The birth of Francis in Assisi

Francis was born in Assisi in 1181 (1182 according to other sources) to a wealthy family. His name was Giovanni, which his father, Pietro di Bernardone, changed to Francesco. Peter was a cloth merchant and as a young man Francesco worked together with him, leading a comfortable life. In 1202 he participated in the war that pitted Assisi against Perugia and was taken prisoner. He remained in prison for about a year and was released when his father paid a ransom.

The conversion of Saint Francis

Returning to Assisi, Francis resumed his work as a merchant, but in 1203 he decided to participate in the fourth crusade. Having arrived in Spoleto, while he was on the way to embark in Ancona, he fell ill and returned to Assisi. The trip was the moment of conversion to religious life. According to hagiographers, Francis had a mystical vision, after which he completely changed his lifestyle. He spent long hours in prayer at the Porziuncola churchlocated near Assisi. The following year, after another vision, he sold part of his father’s fabrics to have another small church in Assisi repaired. Tried in 1206 on his father’s complaint, Francesco completely renounced his father’s assets and he chose to live in povertyfirst alone and then with some companions who intended to follow his lifestyle.

The birth of the Order of Friars Minor

Francesco’s choice was inserted in the context of the diffusion of pauperism, that is, the adoption of a poor lifestyle, preached by some movements that the Church considered heretical, such as i cathars hey Waldensians. Francis, however, did not take sides against the Holy See, but asked the Pope to recognize his rule of life. In 1209 (or 1210 according to other sources) he went to Rome together with his companions and obtained approval from the pontiff. Thus was bornMonastic Order of Friars Minoralso known as the Franciscan Order. It was one of the mendicant orders – together with that of the Dominicans, born in the same years, and others – which represented the Church’s “response” to the pauperism advocated by the Cathars and the Waldenses. After papal approval, the first Franciscan convents were born. Some women also joined, the first of which was Clare of Assisiwho founded the female order of clarisse.

The journey to Egypt: Saint Francis with the sultan

In the 1219 Francesco reached Damietta, an Egyptian city in the Nile Delta, where the fifth crusade. Having reached the camp of the Christian troops, he asked and obtained permission to meet the sultan al-Malik al-Kamilagainst which the crusaders fought. The meeting was long and cordial. According to the most reliable reconstructions, the sultan appreciated Francis and offered him gifts, but he did not convert and continued the war.

The meeting with al-Kamil. Fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli

Francesco’s initiative lends itself to one double interpretation. According to some, it was a disavowal of the crusade, to which the saint preferred the non-violent approach, based on persuasion. According to others, Francis shared the ideals of the Crusaders. What is certain is that the meeting in Damietta made Francis a symbol of interreligious dialogue.

Stigmata and death

Having returned to Italy, in 1223 Francis organized a representation of the birth of Jesus in Grecciogiving life to the tradition of the nativity scene. According to the hagiographers, in 1224 he received the stigmatathat is, wounds on the wrists and feet, the places where Jesus had been pierced with nails to be crucified. For the Church, the stigmata, which were also received by other saints, mean sharing the suffering of Jesus. Naturally, this is a religious interpretation and has no scientific basis. What is certain is that Francis did not bear the stigmata for long: on the evening of 3 October 1226 he felt ill and he died near the small church of Porziuncola.

Why Francis became a saint: his legacy and his cult

In the 1228just two years after his death, Francis was proclaimed holy by Gregory IX by virtue of his preaching and the alleged miracles he had performed. To house the body, a large basilica was built in Assisi, frescoed by Giotto and by other painters. They also began to circulate anecdotes about lifewhich were collected in the volume in the 15th century The foils of San Francesco. Among the most famous anecdotes is that of wolf of Gubbioaccording to which Francis managed to tame a ferocious animal, which was terrorizing the inhabitants of the area, with just his word.

Francis’ main legacy isOrder of Friars Minoralso called Franciscans, which today is the largest Christian monastic order (if we consider all the subgroups into which it is divided). Francesco was also an author of literary texts: the rules of the order, some letters and various prayers and praises of the Lord. The most famous, the Song of Creatures (also called Canticle of Brother Sun), is considered the first work of Italian literature.

Francis is today one of the most loved saints by the population and numerous sanctuaries and places of worship are dedicated to him. In the 1939Furthermore, Pope Pius XII proclaimed it patron saint of Italy (also because his Song makes him one of the fathers of Italian language and literature) together with Catherine of Siena and in 2013 Jorge Mario Bergoglioelected pope, chose his name Francis in honor of the saint.

San Gennaro has never been to Naples