On October 4 we honor Giovanni Francesco di Pietro Bernardone, who became popular as Saint Francis of Assisi .
He was born on September 26, 1181 in a wealthy family in the city of Assisi.
Even in his youth, Francis found himself far from the environment in which he was born. The change in his way of thinking and in life is drastic – Francis renounces wealth and vows to poverty, thus expressing his love for God. He defines himself as “married to poverty”.
The main principle he preaches is “to have nothing“ and by repentance take care of your soul. To live according to the rules of the Gospel and to preach repentance – these are the basic rules in the life of the future saint of the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1209, Francis, together with twelve of his followers, appeared before the Pope in Rome, where he asked the holy father to confirm their brotherhood. The Pope accepted their vows of obedience, and thus the order of the brothers, named after their leader, was born – Franciscan Order.
Francis himself never became a priest; he is considered unworthy of this rank and therefore remains a deacon until the end of his days. His followers call themselves “minorities” from the Latin word for “lesser", and in their case - "nothings", people without property and without attachment to material things. By the way, the word “minister” is related to minorite (in Latin, both derive from minus - little, and the word minister in Ancient Rome was used exclusively for people performing positions in the service of others) – ministers were called the participants in missions spreading throughout Europe the principles of St. Francis of Assisi. His followers are trying to preach in North Africa. Francis himself spent some time as a missionary in Egypt and Syria, where – according to his testimony – the sultan himself showed interest in his sermons, but in general his mission met with little success.
In later times, missionary work became one of the main activities of the Franciscan order.
The avalanche of followers joining the order of St. Francis, however, leads to a certain contradiction between Francis' original intentions and the real situation. The number of minorities threatens the lofty ideal for which the order was created. Shortly before the death of Francis, the Pope transformed the brotherhood into a monastic order.
In 1224, Francis fell ill. He is suffering from severe stomach pains. According to his biographers, it was precisely during these last years of his life, after he retired from administrative duties in the order, devoting himself again to travel and preaching, that through pain Francis experienced his happiest hours.
The signs of God also appear – St. Francis was the first person to know the stigma – in a miraculous way, wounds appeared on his body, in the places where Christ received his wounds on the Crucifixion. He rested on October 3, 1226 in his hometown of Assisi. Two years later he was canonized as a saint. He is considered the patron saint of Italy and animals.
After his election on March 13, 2013 as Pope, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio took the throne name Francis I in memory of the Saint of Assisi.