MEMORIAL OF ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI, SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, OCTOBER 4, 2025
- Olivia M. Bannan
- Oct 3
- 3 min read
Question: Who loved the poor, loved lepers and was a man of peace?
As one reads the biography of St Francis of Assisi we are very much aware of his holiness, love for Jesus Christ crucified and his strong desire to live the Gospel and teach others to do so.
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone was born in 1182 to Petro and Picca Bernardone. His father changed his name to Francesco and he is known as Francis of Assisi. They were the wealthiest family in Assisi but Francis did not want their riches. In his youth he was known as the King of Youth as he was joyful, natural and gladly shared his good fortune with friends and the poor.
On his way to battle for Pope Innocent III, he took ill and God spoke to him telling him to go back home and serve Him. While on journey he came upon a leper, quickly was repulsed but fighting back from this natural response he embraced the leper. Gradually His love for the poor grew and he recognized Jesus in the poor. He embraced a life of poverty and was known as the Provello (the poor one).
While praying in front of the San Damiano crucifix, Jesus spoke to him, "Francis, repair my house which as you can see has fallen into ruin." Not only did St Francis repair that church but others, he invited many to join him in this love. His father did not approve of his son's activities and they became estranged. One day after Mass, St Francis opened the Bible and opened up to three scriptures.
If you would be perfect, go and sell all you have and give to the poor and follow me.
Take nothing with you for the journey.
And if any man will follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.
He and his community followed the above and were known as the Penitents of Assisi. They not only repaired dilapidated churches but also they were summoned to respond to the damage done to the Church by way of secularism. Through his charity, humility and penance, many came back to the Church.
He truly imitated Jesus Christ on the crucifix. St Francis asked Jesus to allow him as much as possible to feel His suffering. In 1224 after a vision of a six-winged Seraph angel at Mount La Verna he was united to Christ with the gift of the stigmata.
He died on October 4, 1226, lying on the bare floor, blind and naked, and poor in the eyes of men. He was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on July 16, 1228.
St Francis accomplished so much. He spread the word of God, tried to convert the Muslim Sultan to Christianity. He set up the Christmas crèche, staging the first nativity scene on Christmas Eve in 1223. He composed the Canticle of the Sun(1) in 1224 while recovering from high fevers, poor vision and feeling sorry for his failures. He wrote it to counter self pity.
He established the order of the Franciscans. There are many branches of the Franciscan movement, with the Secular Franciscan Order having approximately 400,000 members, followed by various orders of religious sisters, brothers, and friars which number in the tens of thousands each.
God Bless You
Chapel of the Stigmata at La Verna
Site where St Francis of Assisi received the stigmata
Comments