On September 26, 1181, Giovanni Francesco di Pietro Bernardone was born into 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 life was drastic – Francis abandoned wealth and condemned himself to poverty, thus expressing his love for God. He himself defined himself as “married to poverty“.
The main principle he preaches is “to have nothing“ and through repentance to 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 oaths of obedience, and thus the order of brothers was born, named after their leader - the Franciscan Order.
Francis himself never became a priest; he was considered unworthy of this rank and therefore remained a deacon until the end of his days. His followers called themselves “minorites“ from the Latin word for “lesser”, and in their case - “minors”, people without property and without attachment to material things. Incidentally, the word “minister“ is related to minorite (in Latin both come from minus - little, and the word minister in Ancient Rome used exclusively for people who held positions in the service of others) – ministers were the names given to participants in missions that spread the principles of St. Francis of Assisi throughout Europe. His followers tried 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 overall his mission was of little success.
In later times, missionary work became one of the main activities of the Franciscan order.
However, the avalanche of followers joining the order of St. Francis led to a certain contradiction between the original plans of Francis and the real situation. The number of Minorites threatened the lofty ideal for which the order was created. Shortly before Francis's death, the Pope transformed the brotherhood into a monastic order.
In 1224 In the year 1226, Francis fell ill. He suffered from severe stomach pains. According to his biographers, it was during these last years of his life, after he retired from administrative duties in the order, devoting himself again to traveling and preaching, that Francis experienced his happiest hours through pain.
The signs of the Lord also appeared - St. Francis was the first person to know the stigmata - wounds miraculously appeared on his body in the places where Christ received his wounds on the Crucifixion. He died 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 as Pope on March 13, 2013, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio took the throne name Francis I in memory of the saint of Assisi.