FIRST FOREIGN MISSIONS.
"They are gone where Love is frozen, and Faith grown calm and cold,
Where the world is all triumphant, and the sheep have left the fold,
Where His children scorn His blessings, and His sacred shrine
despise."
It was about the time of the first chapter that Francis began to feel
drawn to foreign fields. The Franciscans had now spread all over
Italy, and there was a general desire shown by the brethren to extend
their ministrations outside that country. It would appear that at its
close, a small number of the brethren were sent out to evangelize the
various countries of Europe, Portugal, Hungary, Germany, etc.
For himself Francis had a larger and more daring scheme.
It was the time of the Crusades. All Christian Europe was bending its
energies to wrest the tomb of our Saviour out of the hands of the
Saracens. Band after band of Crusaders had marched into the Sultan's
territory--to suffer defeat and death. Francis was too much of a
soldier and knight not be stirred by the tales of bravery and daring
which were rife everywhere. But he had his own opinions.
"Is there not," he asked himself, "a more beautiful way of gaining the
desired end? Why all this bloodshed? why this wholesale hurrying of
men to perdition? why all this strife between the children of one
Father? Why has no one ever tried to gain these infidels over on
Christ's side? How many lives might be spared, and what an increase
there would be for His Church if they succeeded!"
It was a noble thought, and one worthy of Francis. The more he
pondered these matters the more convinced he became that it was his
duty to put his ideas into practice. He told some of the brethren his
purpose, and they, convinced that God led him, made no objection, and
in a very short time he was ready to begin his difficult and dangerous
undertaking. Peter of Cantani was appointed to take the government of
the Order during his absence.
Francis, and his companion, whose name we are not told, embarked at
Ancona. How they got their passage without any money we do not know,
but it is evident that they managed it somehow. When they were well
out to sea, such a storm arose as caused them to seek refuge on the
coast of Illyria. It was supposed at first that the delay would only
be one of a few weeks, but the stormy weather persistently continuing,
it soon became evident that it would be impossible to cross the Levant
at that season of the year. This was a great disappointment to
Francis, but he was far from being discouraged. He determined to
return to Ancona. A vessel was about to sail, and he presented himself
as a passenger, but as he had no money they refused to take him on
board.
[Sidenote: _A Dilemma!_]
Here was a dilemma! But help was at hand. One of the ship's officers,
a good man, was touched by the harshness with which the missionaries
were treated, so he went to Francis and told him that he would take
them on board. He conducted them down into the hold, and hid them
behind some horses there. Hardly had they been deposited when an
unknown friend brought an enormous basket of provisions, and, giving
it to their benefactor, said--
"Take this, take great care of it, and as the need arises, distribute
it to the poor brethren you have hidden."
The need soon arose. Another fearful storm beat the vessel about to
such an extent that the voyage was prolonged far beyond the usual
limit. Provisions were exhausted and a famine threatened the unhappy
crew. Then Francis, hearing of the distress, crept out from among the
horses, explained his presence, and said that he had food which he
would be glad to share with them. The legend tells us that the food
was miraculously made to last the voyage; the real fact was probably
that the basket contained large supplies of beans, and lentils, and
macaroni, and such Italian foods that swell in the cooking, and go a
long way.
[Sidenote: _In Spain._]
Arriving at Ancona, Francis began to preach. He had a wonderful time,
and a great number of clerics and laymen joined the Order. Part of
them Francis took with him to the Portiuncula, and offered them to God
as the price of his failure! After watching over them for a few weeks,
he left them in good hands, and turned his attention again to foreign
mission work. The east had been closed to him, but that was no reason
why the west should not open. The enemies of the Christians were as
powerful in Spain and North Africa, as in Egypt and the Holy Land. The
infidels had just been defeated in battle, and all Europe was talking
about the victory gained at Las Navas Tolva. The heart of Francis
mourned over these defeated ones. "Supposing they had been defeated,"
he argued, "their natures were still unchanged, their souls were still
unsaved." He began to question if their need was not his call. He
thought he heard them crying, "Pass over and help us!" He offered
himself to God for this work, and, taking with him his well-beloved
Bernardo di Quintavelle, set out for Spain. He had another rough
experience of the sea, but this time he reached his goal without any
mishap.
It was autumn when they landed in Spain, and without loss of time,
they set off for the interior. At the outset of the journey, a little
incident occurred which, though unpleasant at the time, God over-ruled
for good. They were passing a vineyard, and Bernardo, who was very
thirsty, plucked a bunch of grapes to refresh himself with. This was
quite an allowable action in Italy, but Spain appeared to have a
different code of morals, and one of the servants of the owner seized
Bernardo, called him a rogue and a thief, and insisted upon his paying
for what he had taken. Bernardo explained that he had no idea of
doing wrong, and that he did not possess the smallest piece of money.
The man snatched at his mantle, and said that would have to pay for
it. But Francis, without discussing the matter with the servant,
insisted upon seeing the owner of the vineyard. To him he explained
the state of affairs; the mantle was given back, Bernardo was
apologized to, and the good Spaniard did even more, he offered his
services to Francis, and threw open his house, which became a sort of
hostelry for the Order, and any brother was always welcome, night or
day, to the best that there was.
[Sidenote: _The Will of the Lord._]
Francis' intention was to go straight to the Mussulmans. He even
talked of reaching Morocco. But God led him to stay in Spain longer
than he had expected. People were converted everywhere, and branches
of the work were established. Who took charge of these new ventures we
are not told; doubtless friars from Italy were sent there.
Just as he began to see his way clear to go to the Mussulmans, he was
seized with a violent fever. For some time he lay between life and
death, and when at last he began to get well, it was perfectly evident
that there could be no talk of his going to Morocco. Always submissive,
Francis accepted this as the will of the Lord and returned to Italy. The
reason why he was led back to the Portiuncula at that particular time
seemed to him quite plain afterwards; for, when he got there, he found a
number of learned and noble men waiting to offer themselves to him.
Exactly what Francis did after this is not quite clear. Probably he
preached round about the North of Italy, and visited the various
branches of the work, instructing novices, and establishing fresh
centres. At the beginning of the next year we find him attending a
conference in Rome, respecting the recovery of the Holy Land. While
here, he met Dominic for the first time. Dominic was the founder of
another kind of Friar Order. He conceived a great admiration for
Francis, and tried very hard to get him to consent to amalgamate the
two. This Francis never would consent to do, and the two always
remained distinct.
[Sidenote: _Ugolin's Visit._]
The decision of the conference was that the Pope himself should lead a
crusade into the Holy Land. He left Rome in May, and passed through the
valley of Assisi, where Francis was presiding over a general Chapter. At
Perugia he was taken ill with fever. One of his near relatives, Cardinal
Ugolino, accompanied him. This man had heard a great deal about Francis
from Cardinal Paul, who had just died, and he thought that now would be
a good chance to see for himself. Accordingly, followed by his
magnificent suite, he travelled back to Assisi. All he saw filled him
with wonder; it bore to him the mark of true holiness. What struck him
most was the poverty of it the brethren. He had no idea they carried it
so far. He went through the roughly constructed cells, saw the beds made
of straw, more like the lairs of wild animals, and he could not restrain
his tears.
"Alas!" he cried to those who were with him, "what will become of us
who need so many superfluities in our lives!"
Ugolino did not stop there. He felt impelled to offer himself to fill
the place of Cardinal Paul as Protector of the Order.
"I offer myself to you," he said to Francis; "if you wish it, I will
be your helper, counsellor, and support!"
Francis first of all thanked God, and then he answered, "It is with
all my heart I salute you, the father and Protector of our religion. I
wish all my brothers to you consider you as such!"
There are some historians who declare that this friendship--for a very
real friendship sprang up between Francis and Ugolino--was no
advantage to the Order, but rather harmed it. There is no evidence of
this among the best authorities; they lean rather to a contrary
opinion, and we are inclined to believe ourselves that the Order would
never have developed as it did but for Cardinal Ugolino. He went back
and told the Pope what he had seen, and the old man rejoiced greatly.
It was the last joy he had on earth, for he died a few days later.
[Sidenote: _Growth of the Order._]
Time went on, the Order spread and spread till it was impossible for
one man to do justice to the whole. To meet the growing need for
oversight, Italy was divided into several provinces, these provinces
were to be directed by brothers who were called "Ministers" or
"Provincial Servants." Francis named Peter Catani for Umbria, Elias
for Tuscany, Bennet of Arezzo for the Marches of Ancona, John of
Stracchai for Lombardy, Daniel for Calabria. Then it was also decided
that Bernardo di Quintavelle was to take charge of Spain, and John of
Penna, Germany. Francis himself was to take France, a land he had
always been especially drawn to. It was through the intervention of
Ugolino that he forewent this mission. Francis stopped at Florence on
his way to tell him of his journey. Ugolino saw what Francis could not
see, that in view of all their new ventures he could not afford to
leave the country just then. Francis argued that he could not stay at
home in safety and let the brothers go abroad on dangerous missions,
it would raise talk. Ugolino wanted to know if Italy wasn't big enough
for him. Francis replied that God had raised them up for the good of
the whole world.
"Perhaps so," said Ugolino, "but in any case _you_ cannot go away yet
without imprudence. Your Order is only just started, you know the
opposition it met with at first; its enemies are not yet disarmed, and
your presence is necessary to defend and maintain it."
Francis saw that Ugolino spoke wisely, and he gave in and stayed at
home. For some time he was the guest of the Cardinal, and their mutual
liking for each other was greatly increased. The more Ugolino saw of
Francis the more he loved him, and though he could not see eye to eye
with him in everything at first, he eventually came round to his ways.
As much as possible Francis lived his simple manner of life in the
Cardinals palace. He prayed and meditated, he went out to preach and
to beg, and he even brought back his alms into the palace! One day
there were a great many people at the table, and Francis was eating
the scraps he had begged. Some of the guests began to joke him about
it, but Francis maintained that his food was angels' bread, and if
they liked he would share it with them. All--prelates, knights and
nobles--accepted willingly, some ate their portion, others put it by
to keep as a memento. But Ugolino was a little hurt. He took Francis
aside and said--
[Sidenote: _A Quarrel._]
"Ah, my brother, wherefore all this begging; you hurt me. Do you not
know that my house is yours and your brethren's?"
"My lord," answered Francis, "I have not affronted you; I think I have
honored you by imitating in your house our Lord Jesus Christ who
taught us to love poverty. For, indeed, I mean only to follow the
footsteps of my Master!"
The Cardinal bowed his head.
"Do, my brother, what seems good to you," he said, "the Lord is with
you!"
This visit of Francis' to Florence resulted in the establishment of a
large convent on the borders of Tuscany and Umbria. This is how it
came about. The powerful family of the lords of Baschi were divided.
The three sons were in open rebellion on account of questions of
personal interest, and they were doing their best to drag into this
quarrel the numerous friends of their clients and vassals. It was
plain to be seen that bloodshed would be the outcome. Francis was very
much grieved when he heard of this dissension, and felt that he must
do his best to stop it. Accordingly, he visited the three brothers,
Ugolino, Buonconte and Ranicu, in turn, and entreated them in the name
of Christ to desist. He succeeded in accomplishing his end, they laid
down their arms, amicably settled the vexed question, and a charter of
reconciliation was drawn up. Then, wishing to show their gratitude to
Francis, they presented him with a beautiful hill, and, building a
monastery on it, begged of him to send friars to establish a work
there.
A little later, the Cardinal presided over what was known as the
"Chapter of Mats," so called because the brothers lived under little
tents made of matting. He was very much surprised at all he saw, and
said he never expected to find a well-disciplined army! This was a
very important Chapter, and many new Provinces were formed. It was
conducted very much like the preceding ones.
[Sidenote: _Failure of the German Mission._]
It was either in the middle or just before this Chapter, that the
German-Hungarian expedition returned. Their mission had been an utter
failure! When questioned as to the reason of this failure, they
answered, unanimously--
"No one knows us; our dress, our loneliness, excite distrust. The
clergy have united to drive us away, they called us heretics, and left
us without defence or protection. We fell into the hands of wicked men
and thieves, who ill-treated us; we had to come away!"
This sounded very badly, but the explanation of it lay in the fact
that they did not understand the language of the people they went to!
How it happened that they were sent, not knowing the language, we
cannot say. Perhaps Francis thought that French and Italian would be
spoken, or, at least, understood in these countries, or it may be he
expected them to be endowed with the gift of tongues. Those who went
to Germany knew but one word of the language, "ja"--"yes." In the
first town they entered they attracted a great deal of notice, and
people asked them if they would like food and a lodging. They did not
understand a word of what was said, but they smiled and said "ja."
Finding themselves well treated, they determined to use this
expression on all occasions.
Unfortunately, the next one asked them if they were heretics, and had
come to Germany to preach an evil doctrine. When they again smiled and
answered "ja," to their grief and amazement, they were cast into
prison, and after having been ill-treated for some time, were driven
out of the country.
At the close of the "Chapter of Mats," Francis announced that he was
about to proceed to Egypt to preach to the Sultan. Ugolino had decided
that things were now on such a solid foundation that he could with
safety leave the Order while he took this long journey.