Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order
San Francisco de Asis
Among all the images and figures of Saints , Francisco Bernardone, known worldwide as Saint Francis of Assisi, has been and is one of the Saints who arouses the greatest devotion in all kinds of people. Founder of the Franciscan Order, he was canonized in the year 1228 by Pope Gregory IX .
Saint Francis of Assisi, birth and youth
Francisco Bernardone was born in Assisi, Italy, in the year 1182 . His parents were Pietro Bernardone and Madonna Pica. As a young man he participated in the war between the regions of Perugia and Assisi, in 1202, and in the battle of Collestrada he was taken prisoner and released the following year. In 1205 he joined the army again and went to war, but on the way he had a dream in which a voice ordered him to return and give his life a different direction. Then began his conversion: he turned away from friends, frequented the company of the poor and intensified his life of solitude and prayer.
Saint Francis of Assisi, a life dedicated to others
In 1206, at the age of 24, he renounced wealth and family to move to the town of Gubbio where he served lepers. Back in Assisi, he dressed in the habit of a hermit and worked on the restoration of the hermitages of San Location in the city of Assisi Damián, San Pedro and Santa María de los Ángeles (also called the Porziuncula).
In 1208 he heard the gospel of the sending of the disciples on mission and discovered his evangelical and apostolic vocation . It was when he began to preach peace, equality among men, the removal of wealth, love and the coming of the Kingdom of God. He was joined by the first three companions with whom the I Franciscan Order was born. These were: Bernardo de Quintavalle, Pedro Cattani and Gil de Asís.
Saint Francis of Assisi, the Franciscan Order
In 1209 he wrote the first Rule of the Order , which dictated the lifestyle for the Franciscans. Its precepts were:
Life based on love, prayer and peace
vows of complete poverty
Support from own work or, if necessary, alms
Offer an example of self-renunciation
On Christmas Eve in the year 1223, Saint Francis of Assisi staged the Birth of Jesus in a small cave near Greccio (Italy). This small celebration will become, with the passing of the centuries, the seed of the nativity scene tradition that we currently enjoy.
He died at the age of 44 and was transferred to Assisi and buried in the Church of Saint George.
In the year 1228, Pope Gregory IX canonized Francis of Assisi and he became a Saint.