Saint Francis of Assisi

Few Saints are more immediately recognizable than Saint Francis of Assisi. He is recognized, loved, and claimed by Christians of all denominations, and even embraced by non-Christians. Francis seized the imaginations of his contemporaries, as well as that of modern men, by his unique simplicity, a pure grace of spirit, his overwhelming love for God, and his mode of life in which he actively sought to live according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, given the extent with which he's loved, few Saints are less understood than Francis is. To the modern mind, Francis is a caricature. He is the simple, lovable, man who preached to birds, tamed wolves, talked to fish, and was so gentle that wild hare leapt into his arms. But he's so much more than that.

Of Francis' early life, one of his biographers, Thomas of Celano, in the 'First Life of St. Francis', would later write, "almost up to his twenty-fifth year, he squandered and wasted his time…He was…very rich, not greedy but prodigal, not a hoarder of money, but a squanderer of possessions, a cautious businessman but an unreliable steward. On the other hand, he was a kind person, easy and friendly…Overwhelmed by a host of evil companions, proud and high-minded, he walked about the streets of Assisi until the Lord looked down from heaven and for His own name's sake…and for His praise, bridled Francis lest he should perish. The hand of the Lord came onto Francis and a change was worked by the right hand of God, that through Francis, an assurance might be granted to sinners that they had been restored to grace and that Francis might become an example to all of conversion to God."