BOOK I

Produced by Scott Pfenninger, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks

and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

THE LIFE AND LEGENDS OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF FATHER CANDIDE CHALIPPE, O.F.M.

REVISED AND RE-EDITED BY FATHER HILARION DUERK, O.F.M.

Imprimatur FATHER SAMUEL MACKE O.F.M. _Min. Prov._ St. Louis

September 1, 1917

Nihil obstat ARTHUR J. SCANLAN, S.T.D. _Censur Librarum_

Imprimatur JOHN CARDINAL FARLEY _New York_

This Jubilee Edition of the Life and Legends of St. Francis of Assisi

is Respectfully Dedicated to all Members of the Third Order in the

City of Cleveland and Vicinity, above all, to the Nobel Patrons and

Zealous Workers of Our Tertiary Branches.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

The Life and Legends of St. Francis of Assisi by Father Candide

Chalippe, O.F.M., need no apology. The work was first published at

Paris in 1727. It is not only well written and reliable withal, but

also instructive, elevating and inspiring. The facts and legends

mentioned are drawn from the oldest and most reliable sources. The

abundance of incidents and anecdotes not to be found elsewhere make

the volume eminently interesting, while the reflexions and applications

which the author now and then interweaves with the narrative are so

replete with practical hints on spiritual life, that they will

undoubtedly produce the best spiritual results in the reader. The style

though simple, at times graphic, is very pleasing; the narrative flows

on with equal ease and freedom.

In 1852 a priest from the Oratory of St. Philip Neri made a translation

into English from what was then the latest French edition. This French

edition came from the press in 1850. With the English translation the

original work appeared in an abridged form. The original work is divided

into six books, the English translation contains but half of these,

so rearranged for the sake of clearness that they form five books.

Most elucidations of the original work regarding characteristics of

St. Francis, events and dates that are doubtful, are omitted, likewise

most of the writings of St. Francis. The former were and still are

undergoing changes, owing to new historical researches and discoveries

made by students of Franciscan sources, while the latter were but

lately again newly translated into English and edited as completely

as possible with many critical notes and references of great value by

the scholarly Father Paschal Robinson, O.F.M.--The Writings of St.

Francis of Assisi by Father Paschal Robinson, O.F.M. The Dolphin Press,

1906.

The marvellous progress the Third Order of St. Francis is making in

this country causes the story of the life of St. Francis that is

herewith presented to the public in a newly revised edition to be

especially welcome. For all Tertiaries know that mere devotion to St.

Francis is of itself not sufficient to acquire the spirit of their

Seraphic Father; all are aware that membership in the Third Order does

not necessarily argue the possession of this spirit--and yet, every

real Tertiary desires nothing more than to acquire the poor, humble,

loving spirit of St. Francis. This spirit can scarcely be acquired,

unless the life of St. Francis be well known, meditated upon and

imitated as far as practicable. The Life and Legends of St. Francis

of Assisi by Father Candide Chalippe, O.F.M., is peculiarly adapted

to help Tertiaries to perform this task; the spirit of St. Francis

breathes in every page. Not once, but several times may Tertiaries

read this book to great advantage. With every reading new items of

interest will be discovered, new lessons will present themselves to

be learnt, new inspirations will be imparted to the soul from above.

The more this book is read, the more it will be loved; the more it is

studied, the more it will be admired. For Tertiaries a book of this

kind is a necessity; it is as necessary for them as a text-book is

for a scholar.

May this wonderful work spread in the future even more rapidly than

before, may it receive the hearty welcome it deserves among the

innumerable Tertiaries and clients of St. Francis of Assisi and be to

them a sure guide to God's abundant graces in this world and to life

everlasting in the next.

PREFACE BY THE AUTHOR

WHEREIN THE PREJUDICES OF CERTAIN PERSONS AGAINST MIRACLES WHICH ARE

RECORDED IN THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS ARE SHOWN TO BE BOTH UNREASONABLE

AND DANGEROUS, AND THAT THE MIRACLES ATTRIBUTED TO SAINT FRANCIS ARE

VERY WELL AUTHENTICATED.

A very common failing amongst men is to adopt one extreme in the

endeavor to avoid another, and sometimes not to perceive that the

extreme into which they fall is greater than that which they had sought

to flee from. To insure themselves against weak incredulity, some have

imbibed such prejudice against the miracles in the Lives of the Saints,

that they cannot endure to hear of them; the very ideas of miracles,

revelations, ecstasies, visions, apparitions, are hateful and disgusting

to them; all that is said on these subjects they look upon as fabulous

and incredible; they call in question the most undeniable evidence,

or attribute these wonders to natural and unknown causes. The wonders

which are recorded in the Life of St, Francis, afford an opportunity

of grappling with these prejudices.

In the first place, no man using his right reason will reject the

wonders recorded in the Lives of the Saints, because of their

impossibility. Miracles are extraordinary events, which break through

the laws of nature, and exceed the force of all natural causes; it is

only necessary to make use of our reason to be aware that God, whose

power is infinite, having freely established these laws, may, whenever

He thinks fit, break through them Himself by the ministry of His

creatures, whom He makes use of as He pleases; that these suspensions

may enter into the external designs of His wisdom and providence, and

that they occur by successive acts, without there having been any

change in Him, because it is an act of His will which causes them, as

it does every other thing. Now this proves that miracles are possible,

and that there is no impossibility in the wonders recorded in the Lives

of the Saints.

In the second place, these wonders ought not to cause an incredulous

surprise in any sensible person who pays due attention to the wonders

of nature. "Man," says St. Augustine, "sees extraordinary things happen,

and he admires them, while he himself, the admirer, is a great wonder,

and a much greater miracle than any things which are done by the

intervention of man. There is nothing more marvellous done in the

world, which is not less wonderful than the world itself. All nature

is full of what is miraculous; we seem unconscious of it, because we

see those things daily, and because this daily repetition lowers them

in our eyes. And this is one reason why God has reserved to Himself

other things out of the common course of nature, on which He shows His

power from time to time, in order that their novelty may strike us;

but when we consider attentively, and with reflection, the miracles

we constantly see, we find that they are far greater than others,

however surprising and uncommon these may be."

The holy doctor admits that the prodigies which are out of the common

course of nature, and which are properly called miracles, are to be

viewed with astonishment, since they are works of God, worthy of

admiration; he only requires that the surprise they cause shall be

qualified by a consideration of the wonders of nature, to which he

likewise gives the name of miracles, in a more extended sense: on the

same principle, and _a fortiori_, what there is surprising in them

should not make them appear to us incredible. An enlightened mind

does not believe in miracles which are communicated to him, unless due

proof of them is adduced; but it is not because what is wonderful in

them renders him incredulous, because he sees more marvellous things

in the universe and in himself. If men who apply themselves to the

study of nature, are pertinacious in refusing to believe in the miracles

of the saints, it is because they do not make use of the light they

have received, and do not reason deductively; they have only sought

to gratify their curiosity, or to gain credit for their discoveries;

and do not some of them lose themselves in their speculations, and

become impious, even so as to recognize no other God than nature itself?

In the third place, faith in the great mysteries of religion must

incline us to believe in the wonders we read in the Lives of the Saints.

Are we, then, not called upon to say to those whose prejudices we

oppose: "As you belong to the society of the faithful, you not only

believe that three Persons make only one God; that the Son of God was

made man; that the dead shall rise again; but also, that Jesus Christ

becomes every day present on our altars, under the species of bread

and wine, at the words of consecration; and you believe all the other

astonishing wonders that are proposed to you in our holy religion:

why, then, do you find such repugnance in believing those of the Lives

of the Saints, which are far inferior to the former"?

It is useless to say in answer, that these last are only based on human

testimony, which we are not obliged to receive; that the mysteries are

propounded to us by Divine authority, to which we are bound to submit;

for this is not the question before us. We only compare one wonder

with another, and we maintain that the belief in the one should

facilitate the belief in the other. In fact, if we believe with a firm

and unshaken faith what God, in His goodness, has been pleased to

effect for the salvation of all men, and what He continues daily to

effect in the Eucharist; may we not easily convince ourselves that He

may have given extraordinary marks of His affection for his most

faithful servants?

In the fourth place, similar wonders to those which are found in the

Lives of the Saints are also found in the Holy Scriptures. Raptures,

ecstasies, frequent visions and apparitions, continual revelations,

an infinity of miracles, miraculous fasts of forty days, are things

recorded in the Old and New Testaments. We believe all these wonderful

circumstances, and we are obliged to believe them, although they far

surpass our understanding; on what, then, shall we rely for maintaining

that the wonders recorded in the Lives of the Saints are improbable,

and that we may reasonably call them in question? Reason, on the

contrary, marks them as so much the more probable and worthy of credit,

as we know and believe similar ones which we may not doubt of.

Christians should be accustomed to what is marvellous, and require

nothing but proofs for the most unusual prodigies.

In the fifth place, the promise which Jesus made that the power of

working miracles should be given to true believers, gives authority

to the belief in miracles in the Lives of the Saints. "Amen, amen, I

say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do he shall do

also, and greater than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.

And whatsoever you ask the Father in my name, that will I do." "And

these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall cast

out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up

serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt

them; they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover."

Our Saviour, according to the doctrine of the Holy Fathers, has promised

the gift of miracles, not to each one of the faithful in particular,

but to the Church in general; and His promise is for all times, when

the good of religion requires its accomplishment. Heretics pretend

that it only related to the days of the apostles, and that miracles

were only required for the establishment of the faith. What right have

they to limit the words of the Son of God? Do they imagine that they

understand the Scriptures better than the holy doctors? How will they

prove that since the time of the apostles there have been no

combinations of circumstances in which the good of religion shall have

required that miracles should be performed? They were required for the

infidels, to whom the Gospel has been preached in different centuries,

as well as for the Greek and Roman idolaters, to whom it was first

announced. The Church has required them to silence the heretics who

have successively endeavored to impugn her dogmas, and to strengthen

the faith of her own children. They have been always useful for

manifesting the eminence of virtue, for the glory of God, for the

conversion of sinners, for reanimating piety, for nourishing and

strengthening the hopes of the good things of another life. We are,

therefore, justified in saying that the promise of Jesus Christ is for

all times, in certain occasions, and that the belief in the miracles

in the Lives of the Saints is authorized thereby.

In the sixth place, that there have been miracles in the Lives of the

Saints are facts, the proofs of which are unquestionable. The Acts of

the Martyrs, which have always been read in the Church, and the

genuineness of which has been admitted by the most talented critics,

contain recitals of the most wonderful events: the confessors of the

faith instantaneously cured, after having undergone the most cruel

tortures; wild beasts tamed and crouching at their feet; lights and

celestial voices, apparitions of Jesus Christ and His angels, and many

other wonderful circumstances.

In the first six centuries there are scarcely any ecclesiastical writers

and Holy Fathers who do not record miracles worked by the servants of

God, and by their relics; and they speak of them as of things which

they have either seen with their own eyes, or were of public notoriety.

Saint Justin Martyr, in the second century, speaking of the power of

Jesus Christ over the demons, in his Apology, addressed to the Emperors

Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, and to the Roman Senate, says: "You

have proofs of what passes before your eyes, and in your city, and in

all the rest of the world; for you know that many of those possessed,

not having been able to be delivered by your exorcists, enchanters,

and magicians, have been so by the Christians who have exorcised them

in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate."

Saint Ireneus assures us that in the same century some true disciples

of Jesus Christ had received supernatural gifts, which they made use

of advantageously for other men: "Some," says he, "drive away devils;

and this is certain, that often those who have been delivered embrace

the faith, and join the Church. To others it is given to know the

future, and to have prophetic visions. Others cure the sick by the

imposition of hands, and restore them to perfect health. Very often,

even in every place, and for some requisite cause, the brethren solicit,

by fasting and fervent prayers, the resurrection of a dead person, and

obtain it; these dead, thus revived, have lived with us for several

years afterwards. What shall I say further? It is not possible to

enumerate the extraordinary gifts which the Church receives from God,

and what she operates in every part of the world, in favor of the

nations, in the name of Jesus Christ crucified."

"We can," says Origen, writing against Celsus, "show an immense

multitude of Greeks and barbarians who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ;

there are some who prove their faith by the power of working miracles.

They cure the sick by invoking their God, the Creator and the Sovereign

Lord of all things; and the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, of whose

Gospel they recite a part. We ourselves have seen several sick persons

delivered from the most formidable maladies, and the cured are too

numerous to be counted."

Tertullian, in his Apology, and in another work, records plainly the

miraculous fall of rain which was obtained from heaven by the prayers

of the Christian soldiers, which saved the army of the Emperor Marcus

Aurelius, which was reduced to the last extremity. He proves the truth

of this fact by the very letter of the emperor. We have also authentic

proofs of this event in the authors and records of paganism itself.

Tertullian, likewise, tells us that the pagans received extraordinary

graces by means of the Christians, some of which he quotes, and he

adds: "How many persons of distinction, without mentioning other people,

have been thus delivered from the devil, and cured of their evils!"

St. Cyprian upbraided an idolater in the following terms, while refuting

him: "The gods whom you adore we exorcise in the name of the true God,

and they are compelled to leave the bodies which they possessed. Oh,

if you chose to see and hear them, when suffering under the power of

our words, as if they were spiritual scourges, and feeling the secret

operation of the Divine Mastery! They howl terrifically, entreat of

us to spare them, declare, in presence of their adorers, whence they

came, and confess a future judgment. Come and be convinced of the truth

of what we say; to be at least moved. Those whom you adore, fear us;

those to whom you pray, entreat of us to spare them; those whom you

revere as sovereigns, are as prisoners in our hands, and tremble as

so many slaves. We interrogate them, and in your presence they declare

what they are; they cannot dissemble the impostures which they make

use of to deceive you."

Such are the miracles which many of God's servants operated in the

second and third centuries, and which cannot be called in question.

How many different kinds are recorded in subsequent times by St. Basil,

and by St. Gregory of Nyssa, in the life of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus;

by St. Athanasius in the life of St. Anthony; by Sulpicius Severus,

in the life of St. Martin; by St. Chrysostom, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose,

St. Augustine, St. Paulinus, in many parts of their works; by Theodoret,

in his religious history; by Pope St. Gregory, in his dialogues; by

St. Hilary of Arles, St. Ouen, and very many others worthy of credit!

These saintly and learned Bishops, Avitus, Metropolitan of Vienne,

Stephen of Lyons, Eon of Arles, conferring with the Arians, in presence

of Gondebauld, King of the Burgundians, after having proved the

consubstantiality of the Word, by the testimony of the Scripture, and

by powerful arguments, offered to give additional proof thereof by

miracles, if the heretics would promise to acquiesce in consequence;

and quoted the example of St. Remigius, Apostle of the French, who was

then living, and setting up the faith on the ruins of idolatry by a

multitude of prodigies.

The miracles operated by means of relics are neither less well

authenticated, nor less celebrated; they were known to the whole world.

St. Augustine was an eyewitness of them; being at Milan when St. Ambrose

discovered, by means of a revelation, the spot where the bodies of SS.

Gervasius and Protasius reposed. He saw a great many miracles performed

in Africa by the relics of St. Stephen, of which he makes mention in

his book of the City of God, written for the confutation of the most

learned of the pagans, wherein he says that, to quote only those

operated in the Dioceses of Calame and Hippo, several books would not

suffice. Nicetius, Bishop of Treves, writing to Clodosvinda, or

Glotinda, Queen of the Lombards, to exhort her to solicit the conversion

of King Alboin, her husband, advised her to make use of the visible

miracles which were operated at the tomb of St Martin, and by the

invocation of St. Germanus, St. Hilary, St. Lupus, St. Remigius, and

St. Medardus. They were so evident, that the heretics dared not call

them in question, and could not deprive them of their splendor. God

made use of these for the conversion of kings, and of the entire

nations.

In all ages after the six first centuries, the prodigies of the Lives

of the Saints are noticed by numerous authors of all countries, whose

talents, learning, probity, holiness, and dignity, render them

respectable to the most searching critics. They are supported by

incontrovertible evidence, by juridical depositions, by authentic acts,

and by splendid monuments which have been erected to their memory by

bishops, princes, magistrates, cities and kingdoms to perpetuate the

recollections of these splendid achievements. We find that the saints

have made numerous predictions, which have been justified by the event;

and that, either moved by the Spirit of God, or compelled by obedience,

they have admitted the supernatural operations which they felt in their

souls. Finally, the prodigies which are found in the Lives of the

Saints have always been considered as indubitable facts amongst the

faithful; the Church recognizes them, and they form one of the objects

of their piety and devotion; no one is placed in the catalogue of

saints whose sanctity has not been attested from heaven, by means of

miracles; and she takes such rigorous precautions, and carries their

strictness so far, that, according to all human prudence, it is

impossible she should be deceived.

We now ask whether it can be permitted to think and to say that such

facts are absolutely false, and should only be looked upon as fables

unworthy of credence? In such case it would be necessary to abrogate

the rule judiciously and universally received in the world, that facts

which have nothing incredible in themselves are not to be controverted

when duly proved; it would be also necessary to refuse credence to all

that is related in sacred and profane history; to lay down as a maxim

to believe nothing but what we see, and to refuse to receive the

testimony of the honorable people with whom we live. Now, this is what

is requisite to prove and convince every man of good sense that the

prejudice against the miracles of the Lives of the Saints is quite

unreasonable; but this does not point out its quality sufficiently;

it is senseless and ridiculous, it is rash, and, what is more, it is

dangerous.

Whoever denies what the Fathers of the Church attest as having seen,

or having been authentically informed of, must conclude that they were

either very credulous, or deceived the people. To refuse to believe

the marvels which have reached us by an uniform and universal tradition,

is to call in question all tradition; to render all its channels

suspicious, and to cause it to be looked upon as a questionable

proposition. What can be thought of the saints, if the miraculous

graces, which they certify that they have received from God, are to

be treated as chimeras; if the accomplishment of what they have

foretold, is to be attributed to chance? What even can be thought of

their most heroic victims? What opinion will be formed of their acts?

Will they be deemed more trustworthy in other matters? When it is

asserted that there have been no miracles since the days of the

apostles, it must be said, by a necessary consequence, that the Church,

which grounds canonization on miracles, makes use of falsehood in that

most solemn and religious act, and that the public worship which the

Church directs is uncertain. Now this very much resembles heresy; for

the great principles of religion teach us that on these occasions the

Church receives peculiar enlightenment from the Holy Ghost, by which

she can neither be deceived herself, nor can she deceive others.

These miracles, it is said, are not articles of faith, and the Church

does not oblige us to believe them. As if nothing was believed in the

world but such things as are of faith; as if it was not dangerous

obstinately to reject those things which are sanctioned by the authority

of the Holy Fathers, by reason and by piety, by tradition and by the

Church, and which cannot be rejected without fatal consequences!

This incredulity attacks, moreover, one of the proofs of the divinity

of Jesus Christ, which the fathers adduced against the pagans. St.

Chrysostom having asserted, on the subject of the miracles of the

martyr, St. Babylas, that our Saviour, on the night of His Passion,

had promised to those who should believe in Him, the power of working

these miracles, adds: "It had been antecedently seen that many had

taken upon themselves the character of masters, who had disciples, and

who boast of performing wonders; nevertheless, we do not hear of any

who had ventured to promise their disciples the same power. The

insolence of their impostures did not go so far, because they knew

that no one would believe them; all the world being convinced that it

is only given to God to make a similar promise, and to fulfil it." On

this principle the holy doctor proves that Jesus Christ is God, since

He has given to those who believe in Him the power of working miracles,

which His disciples actually did, and which His servants now do. St.

Augustine makes use of the same proofs, in his book of the City of

God. Thus the miracles of the saints have in all ages been adduced as

proofs of the Divinity of our Saviour; and this is what those endeavor

to do away with, who, without reflection, consider them as fables.

Another danger is, that they speak of these marvels according to their

own prejudices. They openly say that they do not believe them, and

that persons ought not to have the weakness to believe them; they speak

contemptuously of the books in which they are recorded; they cannot

endure that they should form part of panegyrics of the saints. They

make use of impious derisions, and turn into ridicule the faithful who

credit them, and they censure the conduct of the Church which

consecrates them. Such discourse sanctions heresy and licentiousness;

worldlings and the indevout applaud it, the tepid seem to consent to

it, and the falsely devout approve it; it is a scandal to the weak,

and a dishonor to religion.

It is also to be feared that prejudices against what is wonderful in

the Lives of the Saints may spread to other subjects, if we only judge

from the principles which are the cause of them. For, in what do these

principles consist? They are not grounded on reason or religion; they

must, therefore, have a basis of incredulity for everything which they

do not understand: the foolish vanity of being thought singular;

ignorance, which boldly repudiates what it knows nothing of; keeping

company with libertines; a conformity of feeling with heretics, and

the spirit of the world, which is the enemy of all piety. Such

calamitous causes give room to fear the most fatal effects.

In general, the liberty only to believe those things which we choose,

on points in which religion is concerned, is very dangerous; it often

makes a destructive progress, for its first attempts embolden it.

Persons are easily persuaded that all miraculous narratives are false,

though the Church guarantees the truth of many; and when this same

Church pronounces on dogmatical facts, declaring: such and such

propositions to be heretical which are in such and such a book, and

exacts an interior submission of heart and mind, do these doubters

show more docility? Do they not cloak their disobedience by a respectful

silence, always ill kept and finally broken through by open rebellion?

Do we not see persons in the world speaking irreverently of relics,

purgatory, indulgences, and even of the holy mysteries, after having

treated contemptuously the marvels of the Lives of the Saints?

Certain critics admit these marvels, but have imbibed the idea that

falsehood is so mixed up with the truth, that they cannot be separated

but by using certain rules, which they take upon themselves to lay

down. This prejudice is not less dangerous, nor less unreasonable than

the other.

Because some inconsiderate writers, who cannot be too severely censured,

have given scope to their imagination in certain legends, and have

employed fiction for the embellishment of their narratives, the doubters

pretend that the whole history of the saints is full of impostures;

nevertheless, pure sources have been the basis of their authentic acts,

in the works of the Fathers, and in an infinity of authors well worthy

of credit, and in the Bulls of Canonization. An Asiatic priest, as

related by St. Jerome, who quotes Tertullian, composed false acts of

St. Thecla through an ill-understood sentiment of devotion:--does it

follow from that that the truth of many other acts which were there

read, and which we still possess, is to be set aside? Moreover, the

Church has remedied the evil; she has rejected the false prodigies;

she has expunged from the legends the indiscreet additions; a new

edition has been long since placed in the hands of the faithful, which

only contains the well-authenticated and certain miracles.

A learned man has demonstrated that the rules of these critics for the

elucidation of these miracles are not judicious; that they are

extravagant, and that it would be risking too much to follow them;

that they are contradictory, and not in unison with each other; that

it often happens that they reject or admit miracles against their own

principles. If they find splendid ones, and many of them in the same

legend, they hold them to be suppositions or altered, although, the

oldest and most authentic documents contain similar ones; they reject

them as false, without assigning any reason in proof of their having

been falsified; they pretend that the authors who have recorded them

were too credulous, though they received other articles on the testimony

of these same authors. In order to believe them, they require perfect

certainty, although they give credit to many circumstances in

ecclesiastical and profane history on mere probabilities. One of them

professes not to omit a single miracle which is vouched for by good

authority, nevertheless, he suppresses many of the most considerable;

and many of those which he feels compelled to bring forward, he does

so in terms which mark doubtfulness, to say nothing more.

Thus, the ultra-critics while admitting the wonders of the Lives of

the Saints, reduce them to nothing by rules, which they invent for

separating truth from falsehood, as those who profess to believe an

infallible authority in the Church make that infallibility to depend

on so many conditions, that they may always maintain that the Church,

dispersed or assembled, has never come to any decision in opposition

to their errors.

It is, they say, the love of truth which induces them to examine most

scrupulously the miracles of the saints; nothing should be believed,

or be proposed to belief, but what is true. But Bossuet said of bad

critics: "They are content, provided they can pass for more subtle

observers than others, and they find themselves sharper, in not giving

credit to so many wonders." The love of truth does not consist in

denying its existence, where so many persons of first-rate genius have

found it; it does not depend on rendering obscure the light it sheds,

nor in giving to the public Lives of Saints accompanied by a dry,

bitter, and licentious criticism, calculated to throw doubt on all

that is extraordinary in them, and thereby to give scandal. The learned

Jesuits, the continuators of Bollandus, show, by the precision of their

researches, that they are sincere lovers of truth, but we do not see

that they endeavor to diminish the number of miracles: "They have no

idea of taking them for fictions; nothing astonishes them in the lives

of the friends of God, provided it be well attested." Father Thomassen,

of the Oratory, in his treatise on the Celebration of Festivals, speaks

of a miraculous event which occurred in the sixth century, and which

is reported by Bollandus, and he adds: "These sorts of miracles are

by no means articles of faith, but nevertheless, they are not to be

rejected by sage and considerate persons. Upon reading the works of

St. Cyprian, St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, and St. Jerome, and those of

St. Gregory of Nyssa, of St. Basil, and St. Athanasius, we can have

no doubt that these fathers had no difficulty in believing similar

occurrences, similarly attested. St. Augustine, indeed, has related

several much more incredible; and it is greatly to be feared that to

set one's self above the Augustines, the Jeromes, the Gregories, and

the most learned Fathers of the Church, must be the effect of a most

dangerous pride."

It is objected that the multitude is credulous; that it likes the

marvellous, and should not be exposed to believe untruths. But credulity

is far less dangerous than incredulity; the one admits of cure much

easier than the other; the former, in proper limits, may be very useful,

the latter engenders nothing but evil. Some one has said, that the

love of the marvellous is the ancient malady of mankind; it would,

perhaps, be more accurate to say, that it is a remainder of their

original greatness; and that, being created to witness the marvels of

the Divinity, they are impelled, by an interior impulse, to believe

whatsoever seems to them to approach to them, until such, time as their

visions shall be fully gratified. This impulse only becomes a malady

when it receives wonderful things which are absurd, or without any

foundation. Aversion from the marvellous, which has its origin in the

weakness of a mind oppressed by sin, is a much greater malady, and may

have most dangerous consequences, in a wholly marvellous religion which

we must love. These marvels are displeasing in pious narratives, where

they are fully proved, and they are sought for in theatrical

compositions, where they are mere fictions: the distinction is

dishonorable to Christians. Finally, as to the falsehood: What risk

does the pious multitude run, in believing the miracles of the Lives

of the Saints? They find nothing in them which is not proved, or worthy

of belief; nothing but what may very prudently be believed; nothing

but what is edifying; and this, according to St. Augustine, is a

sufficient guarantee from falling into any dangerous credulity.

We should be very dangerously credulous, if we put our faith in false

and deceitful miracles, which only tend to seduce the mind, and corrupt

our belief. We are warned in the Gospel, that "there shall arise false

christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders,

insomuch as to deceive (if it be possible) even the elect;" and St.

Paul teaches us that Antichrist, "that man of perdition, will come

according to the working of Satan in all power, and signs, and lying

wonders." The father of lies has often inspired the heretics to produce

miracles, which they have asserted to have been performed by persons

of their party, living or dead, from whence they inferred that God

authorized the doctrines they taught. Ecclesiastical history furnishes

many examples of this, and there are some very recent ones.

But Jesus Christ has furnished us with a sure and infallible rule to

avoid the contagion: it is to hear the Church; it is to consider those

only as true miracles of which she approves, and of which she sanctions

the publication; it is to believe firmly that no one who is in revolt

against the Church will ever perform a miracle favorable to his sect,

whatever appearance of austerity, piety, charity, or sanctity, he may

put on; which St. Thomas bases mainly on this principle: that it is

impossible that God, who alone can give the power of working a true

miracle, shall ever communicate that power to confirm a false doctrine;

from whence it follows, that all the miracles produced by sectarians,

notwithstanding all their evidence, and all their pretended

attestations, must neither be examined nor listened to, and must only

be looked upon as purely natural effects, or as impostures, or as

delusions and diabolical operations. This is the way in which St.

Augustine expresses himself on the subject of the miracles which the

Donatists claimed to have performed, and claimed as evidence in favor

of their schism. Let Catholics, therefore, reject with horror the false

prodigies of sectarians, but let them piously give credit to the

miracles of the saints, without paying attention to the ultra-criticism

which strives to throw doubts upon them; and let them be intimately

persuaded that the Church, which approves of them, has founded that

approval on evidence irreproachable.

The marvels which are found in the Life of St. Francis are perfectly

well attested. That Life was first written by Thomas de Celano, one

of his companions, who was directed by Pope Gregory IX. to compile it,

and who afterwards added a second part on additional memoirs. John or

Thomas de Ceperano, Apostolic Notary, who was a staunch friend of the

Saint, published at the same time what he knew of his actions.

Crescentius de Jesi, General of the Order of the Friars Minors, gave

directions, by circular letters, to collect and transmit to him whatever

had been seen or learnt, relative to the sanctity and miracles of the

blessed Father. He addressed himself particularly to three of his

twelve first companions: Leo, his secretary and his confessor; Angelus

and Rufinus: all three joined in compiling what is called "The Legend

of the Three Companions." The others noted separately what they had

themselves seen, and the things which they had learnt from others.

Saint Bonaventure, being at the head of the Order, was urgently

entreated, by the general chapter, to write the life of their holy

Patriarch. With the intention of learning, with certainty, the truth

of the facts, he went expressly to Assisi, "There," he says, in the

preface to his work, "I had frequent and serious conferences with those

who had been in the confidence of the great man, and who were still

living; and principally with those who were most intimately consociated

with him, and who have become the most faithful imitators of his holy

life, to whose testimony we must undoubtedly give credit, because their

acknowledged sanctity assures us that they have spoken truth." Now,

what can the most exact and severe criticism wish more, in order to

give warranty to the marvels in the Life of St. Francis, than

contemporaries, ocular witnesses, holy persons, his own companions,

who lived with him and enjoyed his confidence?

The legend of Saint Bonaventure was spread everywhere, as soon as it

appeared, and was everywhere highly approved: there are many manuscripts

of it. Lipoman, Bishop of Verona, caused it to be printed in 1556. No

one ever attempted to call its accuracy in question. Octavian quoted

it, in his petition to Pope Sixtus IV. for the canonization of the

holy doctor, in 1482.

The first legends have been preserved in manuscript; the celebrated

annalist of the Order of Friars Minors, Luke Wading, saw them and made

use of them. He was one of the most learned men of his time, and all

other learned men have been loud in his praise, not only on account

of his profound erudition, but because he was so ardent a lover of

truth, which he sought for with great care, and having developed it,

nothing could hinder him from publishing it and committing it to

writing.

The uprightness of his heart was conspicuous on a certain occasion,

which is too honorable to him for us to pass it over in silence. He

had been one of the examiners nominated by Pope Innocent X. to inquire

into the writings of Jansenius, Bishop of Ypres, and he had convinced

himself that the five propositions which appeared to be censurable in

those writings might be tolerably explained in a certain theological

sense. Those who are themselves upright are not easily brought to think

ill of others, particularly in difficult affairs, and they sometimes

endeavor to justify them, through charitable feelings, which are

praiseworthy in principle, but which may have evil consequences, when

a doctrine is in question which has been widely spread, and which is

supported by a cabal. Wading, seeing that the five propositions were

censured by various constitutions of the Pope, made a report on the

whole affair, with the following beautiful declaration, worthy of a

truly Catholic Doctor: "If, before this decision, any one shall have

been of a different opinion (as to the five propositions) on whatever

reasonings, or whatsoever authority of doctrine, he is now obliged to

bend his mind to the yoke of faith, according to the advice of the

apostle. I declare it to be what I do with all my heart, condemning

and anathematizing all the aforesaid propositions, in all and every

sense in which His Holiness has proposed to condemn them, although,

before this decision, I thought they might have been maintained in a

certain sense, in the manner I have explained in the suffrage which

has been just seen."

We may feel assured that a man of this upright character, such a lover

of truth, and, moreover, one of such eminent talents, would not have

made use of the two Legends of Thomas de Celano and that of the Three

Companions, without having ascertained their correctness. Moreover,

the critics of his time, who were particular, and in great numbers,

had it in their power to examine them as those of our times have, also,

since they are still extant in the convent of St. Isidore at Rome.

The first, which was composed under the Pontificate of Gregory IX.,

was quoted by Luke, Bishop of Tuy, when he wrote against the Albigenses,

in 1231. It is to be found in the Abbey of Longpont, of the Order of

Citeaux, in the diocese of Soissons, and in the Abbey of Jouy, of the

same order, in the Diocese of Sens. The Legend of the Three Companions

is in the king's library, at the Recollets of Louvain, and in their

convent at Malines.

These are the principal sources which were consulted by Wading for

writing the Life of St. Francis, which forms part of the first tome

of his Annals. He also consulted the acts and public monuments, the

constant tradition, and some manuscripts of the thirteenth century,

which contain other testimonials from the companions of St. Francis,

and were published by contemporaries who lived with them, who collected

their very words, and who are worthy of credence. But the most

marvellous thing which he relates, relative to the actions of the

Saint, he has taken from the legends, as well as a great number of the

splendid miracles which were operated by his intercession after his

death, and of which Pope Gregory IX. was fully informed, as he declares

in the Bull of Canonization.

All modern authors who have given the Life of St. Francis in various

languages, have adhered mostly to Wading; in this work, also, we have

made a point of following him; and the learned, who have so much esteem

for that great man, will agree that we could not have taken a better

guide. Baillet admits that, among the writers of the Life of St.

Francis, Luke Wading is one of the most careful and most accurate; and

yet he taxes him with not having written methodically, when he adds:

"After all the labors of so many persons, who have been zealous for

his glory, we are still compelled to wish for a methodical history of

his life." Whoever may read the Annals of Wading, and his notes on the

works of St. Francis, will find in them as much method as research and

accuracy; but according to some ultra-critics, it is not considered

writing methodically, when marvels which they dislike are permitted

to find their way into history.

Baillet might have said that it has been long a subject of complaint

that we have not in our language a complete and methodical Life of St.

Francis. This complaint is the more just, as the saint had a particular

liking for France; he had learned the language with so much facility,

and spoke it so readily, that they gave him the name of Francis,

although he was baptized John. Paris was one of the first objects of

his zeal; he would even have gone thither, if a cardinal had not

detained him in Italy for reasons which related to his Order. Not

having it in his power to undertake this mission, which he had much

at heart, he destined for it some of his principal followers.

There are some who affect to think that, in the Lives of the Saints,

their example should alone be proposed to the public, imagining that

the miracles they have performed can nowise contribute to the

edification of souls; and two authors of this century have ventured

to suppress all miracles in the Lives of Saints which they have

published. The Church, nevertheless, causes them to be recited in the

Divine Office, and they are carefully related by the holy fathers;

neither does any author of repute, of the centuries preceding, fail

to bring them forward. In fact, no one can deny that they add great

resplendency to the merits of the saints, and, consequently, give great

weight to the example they afford us. They uphold and increase the

idea we have of the power of God, of His providence, His justice, His

bounty, and His mercy, by which they excite us to glorify, love, and

serve Him; and, in showing His special good-will to His servants, they

induce us to invoke their mediation with confidence. Moreover, miracles

strengthen the faithful in their faith, because, being performed in

the bosom of the Catholic Church, they confirm the truth she teaches.

Now, it is not of less consequence to strengthen faith, than to propose

that which tends to the correction of morals, particularly when

incredulity makes as much progress as licentiousness. Moreover, the

miraculous actions of the saints frequently contain most salutary

instructions, and are always accompanied by virtues which may be

imitated, which will be very apparent in the Life of St. Francis.

Some may, perhaps, think that his virtues are too transcendent for

imitation, and content themselves with admiring them, without gathering

any fruit from them. A celebrated heresiarch admired them in this

manner, in the last century. Bossuet remarks, in his excellent "History

of the Variations," that "Luther reckoned among the saints not only

St. Bernard, but also St. Francis, St. Bonaventure, and others of the

thirteenth century; and that St. Francis, amongst all the rest, appeared

to him to be an admirable character, animated with wonderful fervor

of mind." But the faithful in admiring his virtues, must not think

them not to be imitated, for they consisted in following the Gospel;

and they are all obliged to live according to the precepts of the

Gospel.

REV. CANDIDE CHALIPPE, O.F.M.

CONTENTS

BOOK I

His birth--Prediction of his future greatness--His studies--He applies

himself to commerce--His purity, and affection for the poor--He is

taken prisoner--He falls sick--His charity increases towards the

poor--He has a mysterious dream--He wishes to go to the war--Jesus

Christ dissuades him--He is rapt in spirit--His conversion--He kisses

a leper--Jesus Christ crucified appears to him--Salutary effects of

this apparition--He goes to Rome--Mingles with the poor--Is tempted

by the devil--A voice from heaven commands him to restore the Church

of S. Peter Damian--His devotion to the passion of Jesus Christ--He

takes some pieces of cloth from his father's house, and sells them,

to restore the Church of S. Damian--He escapes from the anger of his

father, and retires to a cave--He appears in Assisi, where he is

ill-treated--His father confines him--His mother delivers him, and he

returns to S. Damian--He manifests his intention to his father, who

appeals to justice, and cites him before the Bishop of Assisi--He

renounces his inheritance, and gives back his clothes to his father--The

poverty of his clothing--He is beaten by robbers--Retires to a

monastery--They give him a hermit's habit--He devotes himself to the

leprous--Receives the gift of healing, and returns to Assisi, where

he searches for stone to restore the Church of Assisi--He toils at

building as a laborer--He lives on alms--His father and brother exercise

his patience--The victories he gains over himself--People begin to

esteem and honor him--He predicts something which is fulfilled--He

restores the Church of S. Peter and that of S. Mary of the Angels, or

the Portiuncula--Dwells at S. Mary of the Angels, and is favored there

with heavenly apparitions--He is called to the apostolical

life--Renounces money and goes discalced--His poor and humble habit--God

inspires him to preach--He weeps bitterly over the sufferings of Jesus

Christ--Receives three disciples, and retires with them to a deserted

cottage--He goes on a mission, and his disciples accompany him--the

way they are treated--He receives three other disciples--He makes them

beg for alms--What he said to the Bishop of Assisi, on renouncing all

his possessions--He predicts to the Emperor Otho the short duration

of his glory--It is revealed to him that his sins are remitted--He is

rapt in ecstasy, and predicts the extension of his Order--He makes

several other predictions, and receives a seventh disciple--He proposes

a new mission to them--The address he makes them on their preparation

for, and conduct during, the mission--He returns near to Assisi, where

he receives four more disciples--He assembles all his

disciples--Composes a Rule, and goes to obtain the Pope's approval--He

makes a marvellous conversion--He knows miraculously what will happen

to him at Rome--He is at first repulsed by Pope Innocent III., but is

afterwards received favorably--Difficulties on the approbation of his

Rule--He overcomes them by an address he makes the Pope--The Pope

approves his Rule, and accumulates favors on it--He leaves Rome with

his friars for the valley of Spoleto--God provides for his

necessities--He stops at a deserted church--Consults God on his mission,

and returns to the cottage of Rivo-torto--His sufferings there--The

instructions he gives--God shows him to his brethren under a most

marvellous aspect--The church of S. Mary of the Angels is given to

him--He establishes himself there with his Friars

BOOK II

He receives many novices--Instructs and models them--Sends them to

different provinces of Italy--What he says on this occasion--He departs

for Tuscany, and passes by Perugia, where he makes a prediction which

is accomplished--Many young men enter his Order--They build a house

for him near Cortona--His miraculous fast during Lent--He commands the

devils, and they obey him--He cures many miraculously--He preaches at

Florence--Makes a prediction--Preaches in various places in

Tuscany--What his friars are doing in other places--He preaches the

Lent at Assisi, with great fruit--He consecrates, to Jesus Christ,

Clare, and, Agnes, her sister--Establishes Clare and Agnes in the

Church of S. Damian--He erects a monastery there, the first one of his

second Order, which he then instituted--He is troubled by a serious

doubt, on which he consults his brethren--His doubt is cleared up by

an oracle from heaven--He goes out to preach--Restores a blind girl

to sight, and converts many worldly people--He sighs for martyrdom--Asks

permission of the Pope to preach to the infidels--Makes conversions

at Rome, and establishes his Order there--Returns to Assisi and leaves

for the Levant--Embarks, but is obliged to put into a harbor in

Sclavonia--Goes by sea to Ancona--A miracle which God performs in his

favor--He converts a celebrated poet--Returns to Tuscany, and to S.

Mary of the Angels--He falls sick--Wonderfully humbles himself--Tries

a vocation--Falls sick again and writes to all Christians--Departs for

Spain and Africa, in search of martyrdom--His miracles and other

particulars of his journey--His profound humility--He raises the

dead--Count Orlando gives him Mount Alverna--God miraculously protects

him--He preaches in Piedmont and passes into Spain--Works a miraculous

cure there--The king, Alphonso IX, permits him to establish his Order

there--He receives houses there--A violent sickness prevents him going

to Morocco--His actions whilst he is delayed in Spain--He returns to

Italy--His route thither--He arrives at S. Mary of the Angels, and

disapproves a building there--He goes to Mount Alverna--Is beaten by

devils--Mortifies his sense, and taste--Makes water spring from a

rock--Visits the mountain--Converts there a celebrated brigand--Leaves

for Rome--Discovers some relics by revelation--Makes predictions, and

performs miracles and conversions--Arrives at Rome whilst the Council

of Lateran is sitting--The Pope declares to the Council that he has

approved the Rule--He appoints a general chapter at S. Mary of the

Angels, whither he returns--He holds the chapter and sends his friars

to various countries--He thinks of going to Paris--Reunites an

illustrious family that had been divided--Rejoices in his poverty and

asks of God a greater love of holy poverty--SS. Peter and Paul appear

to him at Rome--His alliance with S. Dominic--He goes to Florence,

where Cardinal Hugolin dissuades him from going to Paris--He returns

to the Valley of Spoleto, and sends three of his disciples to France--A

celestial vision induces him to ask of the Pope a cardinal protector

for his Order--What he says on this subject--He preaches before the

Pope--What happened to him in the pulpit--The Pope gives him Cardinal

Hugolin, as protector of the Order--He preaches in the Valley of

Rieti--Delivers the country from two plagues, and makes some conversions

there--The houses he builds there--He appoints a general chapter at

S. Mary of the Angels, for the year 1219--What he did during the year

1218--Efficacy of his prayers--He wishes to pull down a new house which

he found at S. Mary of the Angels

BOOK III

He goes to Perugia, to consult the cardinal protector--His opinion on

the promotion of his friars to ecclesiastical dignities--He returns

to S. Mary of the Angels--His thoughts on these dignities--More than

five thousand Friars Minors are present at the chapter he had

appointed--He addresses the assembly, and forbids them troubling

themselves about their food--Assistance comes to him from all sides--He

receives more than five hundred novices during this chapter--He forbids

indiscreet mortifications--The devils are incensed against him and his

Order--He cautions his friars, and upon that gives them some

instruction--He humbles them to preserve them from vainglory--He

confounds those who wish the Rule mitigated--He wishes not for

privileges which can engender disputes--He gives his friars instructions

about their conduct to ecclesiastics--He obtains from the Pope letters

apostolical confirming the approval of the Order--What he decrees in

the chapter--He sends his friars through the whole world--The travels

of his Friars in various parts of the world--In Greece--In Africa--In

Spain and Portugal--In France--In the Low Countries--He himself prepares

to go to the Levant--On the government of the monastery of S. Damian,

and other houses of the same order--He sends six of his friars to

Morocco--What he says to them--He starts on his voyage to Syria, with

twelve companions--He rejects a postulant too much attached to his

parents--A house at Ancona is given to him--He appoints, by means of

a child inspired by God, those who are to accompany him to Syria--He

embarks at Ancona and anchors at the isle of Cyprus--Arrives at

Acre--Distributes his companions in different parts of Syria, and comes

to the army before Damietta--He arrives at the camp before Damietta,

and predicts the ill-success of the battle the Crusaders are about to

give--His prediction is accomplished--He finds out the sultan of

Egypt--Announces to him the truths of the faith, and offers to throw

himself into the fire to prove them--He refuses the sultan's

presents--Is esteemed and respected--The good dispositions with which

he inspires the sultan--He obtains permission to preach in his

States--He receives some disciples from the army of the

Crusaders--Visits the holy places--Some whole monasteries of religious

embrace his Institute--He returns to Italy--Establishes his Order in

various places--Preaches at Bologna with great success--What he says

and does on seeing a house of his Order too much ornamented--He makes

a retreat at Camaldoli--Returns to S. Mary of the Angels--Reads the

thoughts of his companion--Confounds the vanity of Brother

Elias--Abolishes the novelties introduced into the Order by Brother

Elias--In a vision the fortunes of his Order are made known to him--He

holds the chapter in which he deposes Brother Elias, and in his place

substitutes Peter of Catania--He renounces the generalship--Will not

receive anything from novices entering his Order--He learns the news

of the martyrdom of the friars he had sent to Morocco--What he says

on the subject of their martyrdom--The martyrdom of these friars is

the cause of the vocation of S. Antony of Padua--His friars pass into

England--He visits some convents--Receives the Vicar General's

resignation, and re-appoints, by the command of God, Brother Elias to

his place--He holds a chapter, and sends missionaries to Germany

BOOK IV

S. Francis begins his Third Order of Penance--Draws up the rule for

it--What his idea was in founding this Order--He returns to S. Mary

of the Angels--Sends Agnes, the sister of Clare, to Florence, to be

Abbess there--He obtains from Jesus Christ the Indulgence of S. Mary

of the Angels or of the Portiuncula--Pope Honorius III. grants him the

same indulgence--Clare and others, hearing him talk of God, are ravished

in ecstasy--He cannot bear the distinction of persons which Brother

Elias made--Makes a terrible prediction--He gives his blessings to

seven of his brethren, to go and preach the faith to the Moors, and

they are martyred--He makes a journey, which is attended with

remarkable circumstances--Cures a cripple--Mixes with the poor, and

eats with them--Foretells of an infant, that he would one day be

Pope--He changes the bed of thorns into which S. Benedict had thrown

himself, into a rose-bush, and performs other great miracles--Goes to

honor the relics of S. Andrew, and those of S. Nicholas--Discovers a

trick of the devil--He visits Mount Garganus--His presence silences

a demoniac--He learns at S. Mary of the Angels the success of the

German mission--Bids Antony preach--Gives Antony permission to teach

theology to the brethren--Alexander Hales enters the Order--Jesus

Christ appoints the day for the Indulgence of the Portiuncula--He

obtains from the Pope a confirmation of the same day--Promulgates it,

with seven bishops--He has a revelation about his Rule--God makes

known to him that he must abridge it--The Holy Spirit dictates it to

him--Some entreat him to moderate it--Jesus Christ tells him it must

be kept to the very letter--His brethren receive it--He declares it

comes from Jesus Christ, and speaks in praise of it--He obtains a bull

from the Pope, in confirmation of the Rule--Is attacked by devils--

Celebrates the feast of Christmas with much fervor--Our Lord appears

to him as an infant--His sentiments on the celebration of

feasts--Discovers a stratagem of the devil--He commands one of his

dead brethren to cease working miracles--Draws up a rule for Clare and

her daughters--Appears with his arms stretched out in the form of a

cross while S. Antony was preaching--Foretells a conversion which

immediately came about--He goes into retreat on Mount Alvernus--His

contemplation and raptures--Jesus Christ promises him special favors--He

fasts rigorously--A piece of his writing delivers his companion from

a temptation--What he had to suffer from the devil--He prepares for

martyrdom--He receives extraordinary favors in prayer--His perfect

conformity to the will of God--Jesus Christ crucified appears to him

under the figure of a Seraphim--Receives the impression of the wounds

of Jesus Christ--He composes canticles full of the love of God--Tells

his brethren of the Stigmata--They are seen and touched--He leaves

Mount Alvernus, to return to S. Mary of the Angels--Cures a child of

dropsy--Other miracles which he performed on the way--He strengthens

himself with new fervor in the service of God--His patience in great

sufferings--His desires for the salvation of souls--His prayer in

suffering--God assures him of his salvation--He thanks Him in a

canticle--He learns the time of his death, and rejoices at it--He has

various illnesses, and suffers extreme pain--He multiplies the grapes

in a vineyard--God gives him sensible consolation--A heated iron is

applied to the temple, and he feels no pain from it--He weeps

incessantly, and says he does so to expiate for his sins--He prefers

the danger of losing his sight to restraining his tears--His gratitude

towards his physician--A miracle is worked by some of his hair, in

favor of this physician--He miraculously heals a canon--His sufferings

diminish--Goes to preach--Drives away a devil--Foretells a sudden

death, and it comes about--Cures St. Bonaventura in his infancy--All

his sufferings increase--Causes to be found for the love of God what

could not be found for money--They take him back to Assisi--They take

him to Sienna--He answers difficult questions, and foretells several

things--He causes the blessing which he gave to his brethren to be

written--They take him to Celles, and thence to Assisi--The bishop has

him taken to his palace--The state of his Order at the time of his

last illness

BOOK V

The violence of his illness does not prevent him from exhorting his

brethren--He is touched at the fatigue which his illness caused them--

Thanks God for the pains he suffered--Dictates a letter to Clare and

her daughters--Rejoices and thanks God for his approaching

death--Blesses his children--Has himself carried to S. Mary of the

Angels--Blesses the town of Assisi--Informs a pious widow of his

approaching death--Blesses his brethren a second time, and makes them

eat a bit of bread, blessed by his hand--Gives a special blessing to

Bernard, the eldest of his children--What we may presume were his

dispositions in receiving the last sacraments--He stretches himself

naked on the bare ground--Desires to be buried in the place of

execution--Exhorts his brethren--He has the praises of God sung when

at the point of death--He speaks to his children, and blesses them for

the last time--Has the passion of Jesus Christ read to him--He recites

the 141st psalm, and dies after the last verse--Miraculous proofs of

his beatitude--State of his body after death--The Stigmata are seen

and touched publicly--His obsequies--Clare and her daughters see and

kiss the Stigmata--He is buried at Assisi, in the church of S.

George--The circular written after his death--His canonization--The

Church of S. Francis at Assisi--He is buried there--Researches are

made to find the sacred body--The mission of St. Francis--The fruits

of his labor.

Devotion of S. Francis towards Jesus Christ crucified--To what a degree

he loved poverty--How great was the austerity of his life--His

humility--His obedience--His gift of prayer and contemplation--His

love of God--His sentiments of filial love on the mystery of the

Incarnation--On the fast of Jesus Christ in the desert--On the mystery

of the Eucharist--S. Francis, in his humility, would not be made

priest--His devotion towards the Mother of God--Towards the angels and

saints--His charity towards his neighbor--His zeal for the salvation

of souls--His affection for the poor--The affection of his heart for

all creatures--The pains he took to lead his brethren to perfection--His

tender charity towards his brethren--His discretion and wisdom in the

government of the Order--His supernatural and acquired knowledge--The

efficacy of his words--His supernatural and miraculous gifts--He drives

away devils--Brings the dead to life--Heals the sick--Has the gift of

prophecy and discernment of spirits--He commands animals, and is

obeyed--He performs many other miraculous actions--The great honors

which were paid to him--His character and appearance--In what sense

he was simple

THE LIFE AND LEGENDS OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

BOOK I

We here offer, to the pious reflections of the faithful, the life of

a man who proposed to himself to practise literally the precepts of

the Gospel, to conform himself entirely to Jesus Christ crucified, and

to inspire the whole world with God's love.

Such a purpose must seem great to all those who can appreciate true

grandeur by the light of religion. In its contempt of the goods of the

world, it manifests an elevation of mind far above the ostentation of

the ancient philosophers; in its deep humiliations, an heroical courage;

in its extreme simplicity, the most exalted sentiments; in its weakness,

and in the apparent foolishness of the cross, the strength and wisdom

of God. The infidels themselves admired all this, and it will be not

less meet to revive the fervor of Christians, and to increase the

veneration they have always entertained for St. Francis.

He was born at Assisi, a town of Umbria, in Italy, in the year 1182,

under the Pontificate of Lucius III. Peter Bernardo, his father, was

a rich merchant, whose principal commercial transactions were with

France. His mother, whose name was Pica, had only two sons, Francis

and Angelo. The latter married at Assisi, and some of his descendants

were still at Assisi in 1534.

God, who has often condescended to usher in His saints by portents,

was pleased, at the birth of Francis, to give signs of what he would

be during his life. For some days Pica had suffered great pains, without

being able to give birth to her child, when a man, dressed as a pilgrim,

came to tell her that she would only be delivered of her infant in a

stable; he would be born on straw. Although this communication appeared

most strange, relatives, nevertheless, acted upon it. The patient was

removed to the nearest stable, where she was successfully delivered;

an event which may well be looked upon, as in the intention of

Providence, thereby to mark the conformity of the holy man to Jesus

Christ, poor and humble; as much, at least, as the creature can be in

conformity with the Creator, and the servant with the Master of the

universe.

This stable has been turned into a chapel, called in Italian, "_San

Francesco il piccolo_"--"St. Francis the Little." Over the door the

following words, in very old writing, are inscribed:

"This chapel was the stable of the Ox and the Ass,

Where Francis was born, the mirror of the world."

His mother had the name of John given to him at his baptism, his father

being then absent in France. A stranger presented himself as his

godfather, and he was accepted as such; whether it was that something

extraordinary was perceived in this person, or that they had been

struck with astonishment at the first event. The uniform tradition at

Assisi is, that this stranger disappeared after the ceremony, and that

he left the impression of his knees on a marble step of the altar,

which is shown in the cathedral church, with the baptismal font, on

which these words in Italian are engraved:--"This is the fountain in

which the Seraphic Father, St. Francis, was baptized."

At the return from the baptismal ceremony, a man, who seemed to have

been sent by God, as well as the other two, or rather an angel in human

form, came to beg that he might be allowed to see the child and hold

it. He took it in his arms, caressed it a good deal, and impressed

upon its right shoulder a well-formed cross, as a mark of his

consecration, recommending the nurse to take particular care of the

child, not to expose him to the snares of the devils, who had a

foresight that he would one day wage a severe war against them. One

of these evil spirits was obliged to confess by the mouth of one

possessed, whom they were exorcising, that the princes of darkness,

alarmed at the birth of Francis, had tried various ways to take away

his life; and it was the Saint himself who expelled this devil

afterwards. These portents, marvellous as they are, are less surprising,

when we consider the singular and marked favors which heaven destined

for him.

His parents brought him up with great care, and he was put to study

with the clergy of the Parish of St. George. After he had acquired

some knowledge of letters, he was initiated in commercial affairs, the

correspondence of which necessitated his learning the French language;

he acquired it with so much ease, that his father gave him the name

of Francis, a name which he bore ever after.

Bernardo and Francis pursued their avocation in a very different manner.

The first, with no other object than his worldly interest, thought of

nothing but his profits, and had no other care than that of

accumulating. Francis, who had not a particle of avarice, and had less

thought of his profit than of dealing with honor, traded with nobler

and more elevated feelings. But he loved the world, he frequented

society, and spent a good deal in dress, festivities, and parties of

pleasure. His father frequently reprimanded him on the subject of his

expenses, but his remonstrances had little effect, because he had no

consideration of the value of money, and he wished to be distinguished

amongst his young companions, who always considered him as their leader.

His mother, who was tender and generous, had more patience with him;

and she said to those who spoke to her of his profusion, that from

what she remarked in his conversation, in his actions, and even in his

amusements, she had reasons to hope something great when he should

come to maturer years.

Indeed, in all his demeanor, excellent prognostics for the future were

observable: his temper was exquisite, mild, and condescending, his

manners were agreeable and very polite; he was lively, and had great

good sense: he was brave, and had a strong inclination to be generous,

even to give beyond his means. Although he plunged into the vain

amusements of the world, there was nothing blamable in his moral

conduct. By the special protection of heaven, he avoided the rocks on

which youth is too often wrecked; he preserved the inestimable treasure

of purity; it was also remarked that he was distressed at any licentious

expressions, and never made any reply to them.

God had imprinted in his heart great feelings of compassion for the

poor, which increased from his infancy, and which induced him to afford

them liberal aid, so that, following the Gospel precept, "Give to every

one that asketh thee," he made a resolution to give to all who should

ask alms of him, and principally if they should solicit it for the

love of God. This feeling for the love of God had its effect upon him,

even then, notwithstanding his dissipation; he could seldom hear the

expression made use of, as he has since admitted, without being sensibly

affected. It having once happened to him, in the hurry of business,

to turn away a poor person who had asked a charity for the love of

God, his conscience smote him immediately, and he ran after the poor

man, relieved him amply, and made a promise to God that he would never

refuse a single individual as long as it was in his power, when an

alms should be asked for His love,--a promise which he faithfully kept

to his death, and which, as St. Bonaventure remarks, was of essential

service in increasing the grace and love of God in his heart. What is

there more likely to bring down the grace of conversion and

sanctification, and increase the love of God, than the practice of

works of mercy?

The amiable qualities of Francis rendered him a favorite throughout

the town, where he was looked up to as the flower of the youth, and

great hopes were entertained for the future in his regard. A man of

simple manners, but enlightened from above, caused a still greater

esteem to be entertained for him. When he met him in the streets, he

spread his cloak on the ground before him, and as a reason for showing

him so unusual a mark of respect, exclaimed:--"This young man will

soon do great things: he will deserve all sorts of honors, and will

be revered by the faithful." Francis, who was unconscious of the designs

of God, did not understand the meaning of this prediction. He knew not

that these honors were to be rendered him only after severe

humiliations, according to the words of the Gospel. Engrossed by the

affairs of the world, and attached to its vanities, he thought little

of this Divine truth, and he had less taste for it; nevertheless he

hoped that he should some day receive the honors which others foretold,

and which God permitted him likewise to predict of himself in an

affliction which came upon him.

The towns of Assisi and Perugia were at war with each other; he was

taken prisoner with some of his fellow-citizens: whether it was that

he had taken up arms in the service of his country, or that he was

beyond the limits of the town of his commercial affairs. His captivity,

however, did not affect his spirits, he preserved his cheerfulness and

good humor. His companions, who were dejected and cast down, were

offended at this, and upbraided him with it, saying that he might, at

least out of feeling for them, disguise them, disguise his satisfaction.

"I am very sorry for you" he replied, "but as to myself, my mind is

at ease and I am thankful that it is so. You see me now a prisoner,

but at a future period, you will see me honored by the whole world."

There was one among the prisoners whose quarrelsome temper and extreme

ill humor caused him to be shunned by the others. Francis entreated

them to draw a distinction between his person and his defects, and to

bear with him: not being able to induce them to do so, he had the

charity to keep him company himself, and by his good advice, he rendered

him more gentle. All were so delighted with his goodness of heart,

that they sought his friendship.

Liberated from captivity, he returned to Assisi, where God visited him

with a long and severe illness, which reduced him to a state of great

weakness. This was to prepare his soul for the influence of grace. As

soon as he could walk, he wished to enjoy the beauty and air of the

country; but he failed to be pleased therewith, and was even disgusted

with what he had previously liked the most; he felt contempt for what

he had before esteemed, and his own conduct appeared to him to be

senseless. This change surprised him much, but it did not as yet make

any alteration in his heart. The return of health renewed his attachment

to the world, his ambition and vanity revived; he entertained fresh

hopes of greatness, and paid once more great attention to his dress.

Thus it frequently happens that when God sends illness to worldly

persons with a view to their conversion, these have no other effect

than momentary reflections and promises, which are soon forgotten on

the return of strength.

However, Francis became more and more charitable, and gave to all the

poor either money or his clothes. Having met a poor and ill-clad officer

who was of a noble family, he saw in him the poverty of Jesus Christ,

the King of kings, and being moved to pity, he gave him the new suit

of clothes he had on.

The following night God showed him in his sleep a great and magnificent

palace, full of warlike arms, all marked with the sign of the cross,

to give him an idea of the reward his charity was to receive. He asked

whom all that belonged to; and he was answered, that the arms were for

his soldiers.

Not as yet understanding the meaning of mysterious dreams, he took

this as a token of the success he was to have in warlike achievements,

without suspecting that the crosses he had seen had a totally different

signification. At that time Walter, Count of Brienne, in Champagne,

was waging active war against the emperor, in the kingdom of Naples,

on the subject of the claims of his wife Alberia, the eldest daughter

of Tancred, King of Cicily, who had been some years dead. Francis

resolved to offer him his services, in the hope of gaining military

honors. He attached himself to an officer of distinction, who belonged

to the count's army, and he set out with a good retinue, after having

assured his friends that he was sure of acquiring great renown.

He first went to Spoleto, and there Jesus Christ addressed these

benevolent words to him during the night: "Francis, which of the two,

think you, can be of the greatest service to you: the master or the

servant, the rich or the poor?" "It is the master and the rich," he

answered without any hesitation. "Why then," continued our Lord, "do

you leave God who is the master and rich, to seek man, who is the

servant and poor?" "O Lord!" exclaimed Francis, "what is it your

pleasure I should do?" Jesus Christ then said to him: "Return to your

town; what you have seen signifies nothing but what is spiritual. It

is from God, and not from man, that you will receive their

accomplishment." The very next morning he retraced his steps towards

Assisi, to await the orders of the Lord, without troubling himself as

to what the world should say as to this precipitate return.

His friends came as usual to propose a party of pleasure. He received

them, as was his custom, with great politeness, and feasted them

magnificently to bid them, thus honorably, an eternal adieu. On parting

from them, he found himself suddenly struck with the vanity of all

terrestrial things, and with the grandeur of all that is heavenly, by

a communication from the Spirit of God, full of mildness, but so

internal, and so forcible, that his senses were brought into a state

of inaction, and he himself remained motionless. He afterwards told

his confessor, that, if he had been torn to pieces in this state of

rapture, he would not have felt it; that, in that moment, he could

only feel at the bottom of his soul. The company, quite alarmed, drew

near him; and when he had recovered his usual serenity, they enquired

of him, laughing, what had occasioned his extraordinary reserve; if,

perhaps, he was not thinking of taking a wife? "It is so," he replied:

"I shall take one, but one so noble and so beautiful, that such another

will not be found in the whole world." Evangelical poverty, which he

afterwards embraced, was the spouse to which the Holy Ghost inspired

him to allude.

After this divine favor he disembarrassed himself as much as possible

of his commercial affairs, to beg of God to know what He would have

him do; and he usually went to pray in a grotto with a confidential

friend, who left him there in entire liberty. The frequent recourse

to prayer excited in his heart so ardent a desire for the celestial

country, that he already looked upon everything that was earthly as

nothing. He felt that this happy disposition contained a treasure, but

he did not as yet know how to possess himself of the hidden prize. The

Spirit of God merely insinuated to him that the spiritual life, under

the idea of traffic, must begin by a contempt of the world,--and under

the idea of warfare, by a victory over self.--All spirituality not

based upon these two Divine lessons, will never have anything solid

in it.

Francis had soon occasion to put these lessons in practice. As he was

riding across the plains of Assisi, he perceived a leper coming straight

to him. At first he felt horror-stricken, but calling to mind that he

had formed a resolution to labor to attain perfection, and that, in

order to be a soldier of Jesus Christ, it was necessary to begin by

obtaining a victory over self, he dismounted, kissed the leper, and

gave him an alms. When he again mounted his horse, he no longer saw

any one, though he looked all round the plain. Filled with astonishment,

and transported with joy, he fell on his knees to thank God, and formed

a firm resolution to aim at still greater perfection. This is the

effect of generous and courageous efforts, they draw down fresh graces,

and reanimate our courage. He acquired also more inclination for

retirement, he had no longer any liking but for solitude, for those

places which were adapted to the holy sorrow of penance, where he

unceasingly addressed himself to God in fervent prayer, accompanied

by lamentations, which cannot be described: God at length favorably

heard him.

His fervor daily increasing, insomuch that he was wholly absorbed in

God, Jesus Christ appeared to him as if attached to the cross. His

soul, at this stupendous scene, was wholly penetrated, and, as it were,

dissolved, and the image of his crucified Saviour became from that

time so strongly and intimately imprinted on his heart, that every

time it recurred to his mind, he had a difficulty in restraining his

sobs and tears.

In this marvellous apparition he was made aware that these words of

the Gospel were personally addressed to him: "If any man will come

after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."

He received from them that foretaste of poverty and humility which

became his characteristics, and so ardent a charity inflamed his heart,

that he had the courage to devote himself to the service of the lepers.

Before this day they were so much his horror, that, far from allowing

them to be in his presence, as soon as he saw them, at whatever

distance, he turned away from them, and if they were near he passed

on quickly, holding his nose. But for the love of Jesus crucified, who

was pleased to represent Himself to the Prophet Isaias under the

despised figure of a leper, he lowered himself to attending upon them

in their hospitals, where, having abundantly supplied them with alms,

he made their beds, dressed their sores, and performed for them the

most abject services; he often even kissed their hands and their faces

with great feelings of commiseration. The words which our Saviour one

day addressed to him while at prayer, stimulated him to continue this

charitable exercise, notwithstanding his natural repugnance: "Francis,

if thou desirest to know My will, thou must despise and hate all that

thou hast loved and wished for till now. Let not this new path alarm

thee, for, if the things which now please thee must become bitter and

distasteful, those which now displease thee, will become sweet and

agreeable." Shortly before his death he declared that what had seemed

to him most bitter in serving the lepers, had been changed into what

was pleasing both for soul and body; and all those who strive to

overcome themselves for the love of God feel, as he did, that the

severest practices are soon softened down by the unction of grace.

The sight of Jesus Christ fastened to the cross made him feel the

misery of the poor so intensely, that he would have wished to employ

all he had, and his own person, in their relief. Sometimes he did strip

himself to clothe them; and when he had not enough to satisfy them

all, he unsewed or tore his clothes to divide among them. In the absence

of his father he caused much more bread to be brought to table at their

meals than was necessary; and when his mother asked the reason, he

said, "that it was in order to give more quickly to those who came to

ask for food." This pious mother saw with pleasure the charity of her

son; and far from endeavoring to check it, she was not displeased at

his leaving her alone at table, while he took to the neighboring sick

the viands of which he stinted himself. An equally lively and respectful

zeal induced him to come to the aid of such priests as were in want;

he took particular care to provide for the decoration of the altars,

in order the better to assist at the divine service. He bought the

finest linen, and distributed it to the poor country churches to be

employed at the sacrifice of the mass; and when this august sacrifice

was about to be celebrated, if anything was wanting, or if the altar

was not properly found in everything requisite, he would offer himself

to the officers of the church, in order to supply what was required

either from his purse or by his personal assistance.

But all these good works did not come up to what he had figured to

himself as requisite for perfection. He could have wished to withdraw

into some distant country, there to practise voluntary poverty, which

had already inflamed his heart. At first he resolved to go to Rome,

to visit the tomb of St. Peter, moved by that grand devotion which God

has often inspired in His saints, and which has been so frequent since

the fourth century. He also proposed to himself to solicit from the

Almighty, by the intercession of the Prince of the Apostles, the grace

to carry out the resolution he had come to of leading an Apostolic

life. After having recited his prayer in this holy place, he noticed

that in the crowd of people some made but a slender offering, while

others made no donation whatever. "What then," said he, "is devotion

grown so cold? How is it that men do not offer all they have, and do

not even offer themselves on a spot where the ashes of the Prince of

the Apostles repose? How does it happen that they do not decorate with

all possible magnificence this Peter, on whom Jesus Christ has founded

His Church?" He contributed to the best of his power, leaving a

considerable sum for that purpose; and what he had wished was

subsequently executed. The Sovereign Pontiffs, and in particular Sixtus

V, who was a religious of his Order, have rendered the Basilica of St.

Peter so sumptuous and magnificent, that it is now the admiration of

the universe.

On going out of the church, he saw a multitude of poor, whom he

immediately joined, as much for the affection he had for them, as for

the love of poverty. He gave his clothes to him who appeared to be the

most necessitous. The following day, having dressed himself with

propriety, he set out on his return to Assisi, praying God to guide

him in the ways of holy poverty.

The devil, who was sensible that the young man would become confirmed

in his intention if he persevered in prayer, appeared to him under a

most terrific form, and threatened him, if he persisted, to render him

a dreadful deformity like unto an old woman of the town, who was so

hideous that he could not even look at her. But the newly-enlisted

soldier of Jesus Christ, who began to be inured to warfare, laughed

at the threats of the tempter, and was more urgent in his prayers, for

which purpose he chose underground places, where he could better defend

himself against the snares of his enemy. The fruit of these holy

exercises was a lively sorrow for the use he had made of the first

years of his youth, and a great perseverance in the mortification of

his senses, in order to bear the cross of Jesus Christ in his body,

as he bore it in his heart.

It was thus that Francis acted before having changed his habit, or

quitted the world. St. Bonaventure says that he had then no other

master from whom he received instructions than Jesus Christ;

nevertheless, an author quoted by Wading, assures us that he sometimes

consulted the Bishop of Assisi. We may here say, in order that there

may be no seeming contradiction between the two, that he received

instructions from Jesus Christ only because he was inspired by Him,

but that he communicated with the bishop on the points on which he had

been inspired; and we may be the more assured of this, as we shall see

hereafter that this prelate had his confidence, and that there is

reason to think that he was his spiritual Father.

The servant of God, walking and meditating one day out of Assisi, near

the church of St. Damian, which was very old and falling into ruin,

was moved by the Holy Spirit to enter it to pray. There, prostrated

before the crucifix, he repeated three times the following beautiful

words, which gave him great interior consolation, and which he

subsequently made frequent use of: "Great God, full of glory, and Thou,

my Lord Jesus Christ! I entreat you to enlighten me and to dispel the

darkness of my mind, to give me a pure faith, a firm hope, and an

ardent charity. Let me have a perfect knowledge of Thee, O God! so

that I may in all things by guided by Thy light, and act in conformity

to Thy will." He cast his eyes, filled with tears, upon the crucifix,

when a voice came forth from it, and he heard distinctly these words

repeated three times, not interiorly, but loudly pronounced: "Francis,

go and repair my house, which thou seest is falling into ruin." So

wonderful a voice, in a place where he was alone, alarmed him greatly,

but he felt immediately the salutary effects of it, and he was

transported with joy.

The sense of these words chiefly related to the state of the Church

which Jesus Christ had purchased at the price of His blood, which the

holy man was to repair in all its defects by his ministry and the

labors of his disciples, according to the explanation which the Holy

Spirit gave to him of them subsequently, which he communicated to his

brethren, as St. Bonaventure tells us.

Nevertheless, the powerful protection which he received from heaven

for the repair of the church of St. Damian, was an indication that the

same words were to be understood to relate to that building also: as

the sacred oracles had a twofold literal sense in the mouths of the

Prophets, one of which related to events which were at hand, and the

other to a distant time, and to mysteries wholly spiritual.

Francis came to himself; he left the church fully resolved to undertake

its repair, and left money in the hands of a priest named Peter, who

did the parochial duties of it, to keep a lamp burning before the

crucifix, promising to give more, and to employ all he had for the use

of this holy place.

The voice which had issued from the crucifix renewed in his mind and

heart the impression of the mystery of the Passion. He felt himself

interiorly wounded through the wounds of Jesus Christ, and he shed

such burning tears, that his eyes were quite inflamed, and, as it were,

full of blood, when he returned from prayer. To make his body

participate in the sufferings which penetrated his very soul, and to

punish himself for the levities of his youth, he imposed on himself

a very rigorous abstinence, with various other kinds of mortification.

The eagerness he felt to commence the repair of St. Damian's church,

suggested to him means by which the work might be begun. After having

fortified himself by the sign of the cross, he took from his father's

stores several pieces of cloth, which he sold at Foligno, together

with his horse. He came back on foot, and offered the money respectfully

to the priest of St. Damian for the repair of the church, and in aid

of the poor; humbly entreating him to allow him to remain some time

with him. The priest consented to receive Francis, but refused the

money, fearing the displeasure of his father; and Francis, who had

utter contempt for money, not valuing it more than so much dust, when

it was of no use for good works, threw it upon one of the windows of

the church.

The heretics of the last century, who calumniated the Saint for many

things, have deemed it criminal in him to have taken these pieces of

cloth from his father's stores. St. Bonaventure is of a different way

of thinking; he has not thought that this action required justification;

on the contrary, he calls the sale of the cloth and of the horse a

fortunate bargain. And, indeed, without going into the right which the

son may have had in the commercial affairs of his father, in consequence

of their partnership, and of his age of twenty-five, had he not reason

to think that, having received orders from heaven to repair a church,

God, who is the Master and Dispenser of all goods, permitted him to

employ a portion of the goods which were under his paternal roof, since

he had no other means of obeying the injunction? But it is an

extraordinary case, which must not be drawn into precedent. The general

rule of Christian morality is, that children may not dispose of anything

without the permission of their parents even under the pretext of

piety.

Bernardo on his return from a journey, having heard what his son had

done, came in great wrath to St. Damian's with several members of his

family; and Francis, who had not yet sufficient strength of mind to

encounter the storm, and wished to avoid the first ebullition, went

and hid himself in the priest's room. Three contemporary authors assure

us that, having placed himself behind the door, and pressing himself

against the wall, when the door was opened he was miraculously let

into the wall, so that he was not seen by those who were looking for

him.

When his father was gone, he retired secretly into a cavern, which was

known only to one servant, from whom he received what was necessary

for his immediate sustenance, and where he occupied himself in continual

prayer, shedding abundance of tears, in order that he might be delivered

from those who pursued him, and be able to accomplish the work which

God had inspired him to undertake.

After having passed a month in this place, he considered that it was

in God alone that he ought to hope, without putting any confidence in

his own exertions, and this thought filled him with interior joy, and

raised his depressed spirits. Reproaching himself, therefore, with his

pusillanimity, he left his cavern and went straight to the town, as

a soldier, who, feeling ashamed of having fled, returns intrepidly to

the charge. Of what is not he capable, who is fully persuaded that he

can do nothing of himself towards his salvation, but that he can do

all through God who imparts strength to him? On these two principles

the saints have undertaken, and carried into execution, the greatest

things.

The inhabitants of Assisi, who saw his face all pale and wan, and who

remarked how changed were his conversation and opinions, thought that

his mind was disturbed. He was called a madman, they threw mud and

stones at him, and followed him, hooting and calling after him. But,

without paying attention to these insults, and being on the contrary

well pleased to bear these marks of the holy folly of the cross, the

servant of God continued his way as if he had been deaf and insensible.

Bernardo being told that his son had returned, and was made the object

of public derision, went immediately in pursuit of him, reproached him

bitterly with his conduct, seized him and dragged him to his house,

where he beat him severely, and confined him in a hole under the

staircase. This severity had no effect in shaking the resolution of

the holy prisoner; he even acquired more firmness, and encouraged

himself to suffer by the words of the Gospel: "Blessed are they that

suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of

heaven."

A short time after, when his father was on a journey, his mother, who

did not approve of the severity with which he was treated, and who

moreover had no hope of overcoming his constancy, set him at liberty.

He gave thanks to God for it, and made use of it, to return to the

church of St. Damian. Bernardo, not finding him in his confinement at

his return, was not content with upbraiding his wife in the severest

terms, but went off to St. Damian's to drive him out of the country

if he should not succeed in bringing him back. Francis, to whom God

had given strength, presented himself boldly to his father, and told

him decidedly that he cared not for his blows, nor for his

shackles--that he was prepared willingly to suffer all sorts of evils

for the name of Jesus Christ. His father, seeing that there was nothing

more to hope in his case, thought of nothing further than to get back

the money for the cloth and the horse. He found it in the window where

Francis had thrown it, when the priest refused its acceptance, and

then his wrath was somewhat appeased.

Avarice, which is never satisfied, induced Bernardo to believe that

his son had other money, and he had him summoned before the city

magistrates, to account for it. Francis appeared before their tribunal

and told them that he had changed his state of life, that God had

delivered him from the slavery of the world, and that he had nothing

more to do with its affairs. The magistrates, who knew his conversion

and his perseverance, saw something grand in his demeanor, and told

his father, who urged them to put interrogatories to his son, that

this affair ought to be carried into the bishop's court. Bernard

addressed himself to that authority, not only to compel his son to

give up what money he had, but to force him to renounce his claims to

any paternal inheritance. Francis, who was a sincere lover of poverty,

cheerfully consented to all that was required of him, and said that

he would willingly appear before the bishop, who was the pastor and

father of his soul. As soon as he was there, without waiting for his

father to make his demand, and without saying anything himself, he

gave up what money he still had, and then stripped off his clothes,

even to his shirt, under which it was seen that he wore a hair-shirt,

and gave them up to his father, addressing him in the following

beautiful words: "Until this time I have called thee father on earth;

but from henceforward I may boldly say, Our Father who art in Heaven,

in whom I have placed all my treasure, and all my confidence."

The prelate, who was a man of great worth, admiring this excess of

fervor, and moved even to tears, rose up, and embracing the servant

of God, covered him with his cloak, and ordered his servants to bring

such clothing as was necessary for him. It was no doubt by a

dispensation of Divine Providence that a bishop pressed to his bosom

him who was to combat so strenuously for the service of the Church.

They brought an old cloak belonging to a laborer, who was in the employ

of the bishop, which Francis received with great satisfaction, and

with which he clothed himself, making on it a cross with some mortar

which he met with accidentally; thus manifesting what he wished to he,

a half-naked poor one, and a crucified man. This occurred in the year

1206, when he was in his twenty-fifth year. St. Bonaventure, who gives

the name of spiritual intoxication to the admirable fervor with which

he stripped himself in order to be able to follow Jesus Christ nailed

on the cross, says that, moreover, in order to avoid the shipwrecks

of the world, he fortified himself with the representation of the wood

which was the instrument of our salvation.

Emancipated from the ties of worldly desires, as he had wished to be,

he now sought for some sequestered spot, where alone and in silence

he might listen to the voice of God. In a wood, through which he was

passing, singing the praises of God in the French language, some thieves

surrounded him and asked him who he was. "I am the herald of the great

King," he replied, in a prophetical sense, with perfect confidence in

God. On receiving this answer, they beat him cruelly, threw him into

a hole that was full of snow, and ridiculed the title he gave himself.

When they had left him, he again began to sing the praises of God in

a louder voice than before, delighted to have had an opportunity of

suffering. At a neighboring monastery, where he implored alms, which

he received as a contemptible beggar, they employed him for some days

in the vilest affairs of the scullery. But seeing that this interfered

too much with his spiritual exercises, he came to Gubbio, where one

of his friends, having recognized him, gave him, in order that he might

be more decently clad, a hermit's dress, a short tunic, a leathern

girdle, shoes, and a staff.

In this penitential habit, he subjected his body to additional

austerities; and in order to fulfil all the functions of humility, to

which he was much attached, he devoted himself to the service of the

lepers. He was constantly seen in their hospitals, moving about in all

directions to aid them, preventing all their wants, showing the greatest

compassion for them, washing their feet, cleansing their sores, removing

the matter, and, by a wonderful effort of charity, kissing their

disgusting ulcers. He received from God in reward the gift of healing;

and this was a figure of the Evangelical cures, which he was soon to

apply to the diseases of the soul.

Among many proofs which St. Bonaventure adduces of his having the gift

of healing miraculously, he mentions that of a man of the Duchy of

Spoleto, whose mouth and cheeks were eaten away by a dreadful cancer,

and for whom all sorts of remedies had been fruitlessly employed. This

man met Francis returning from Rome (whither he had been to implore

the assistance of the blessed Apostles), who, out of great respect,

wished to kiss his feet; this the humble Francis prevented, but kissed

the cancerous face, which was instantaneously cured. The same saint

remarks: "I know not which is most to be admired, such a kiss, or such

a cure!"

The servant of God, who now acknowledged no other country than heaven,

and who was fearful of being the cause of some of his father's

violences, proposed to himself to take up his abode in Gubbio and

devote himself to the exercises of charity, without returning to Assisi;

but calling to mind the order which had been given him by the voice

which came from the crucifix, to repair the Church of St. Damian, he

thought himself bound to obey it, at least by "questing" for what was

requisite for working at it. The profound humility which he had acquired

by the degradations he had subjected himself to, gave him the courage

he required for begging in his native town, where he had been known

to have possessed everything in plenty. Having cast aside all

bashfulness for the love of Jesus Christ poor and crucified, he went

through the centre of Assisi as one inspired, publishing the glories

of God, and soliciting stones for the repair of the church; addressing

his fellow-citizens with simplicity, thus: "Whosoever will give me a

stone, shall have a reward; whoever will give two shall have a double

reward; and he who gives three shall be rewarded threefold."

Many treated him with contempt, and turned him into ridicule. Others

could not understand how a young man of a good and opulent family,

with excellent prospects, hitherto considered as the model of the young

men of the place, could demean himself to such a degree as to beg in

his native town. Some thought that such a change could only come from

God, and were greatly moved by it. But the new-made pauper, having no

respect for the opinions of men, and receiving cheerfully the insults

put upon him, after the example of Jesus Christ, thought of nothing

but the church of St. Damian, for which he quested so successfully,

that many persons, moved by his exhortations, furnished sufficient for

its repair. He himself worked at it daily, and carried the materials

on his shoulders as a common laborer, without any regard for his body,

which was emaciated by the rigors of penance and fasting.

The priest of St. Damian took compassion on the pious workman, and

took care to provide him with a substantial meal when he came in from

work. Francis having received this charitable succor for some days

running, reflected on his situation, and said to himself as he

afterwards told his disciples: "Will you find everywhere a priest who

has so much consideration for you? This is not the sort of life you

have chosen: go, then, henceforward from door to door, as a poor man,

and solicit food for the love of God, with an empty plate, on which

you will put whatever may be given you. For it is thus you must live

for the love of Him who was born poor, who lived poorly, whom they

affixed naked to the cross, and who was put after His death into another

man's tomb." One must be very dead to self, have great contempt of the

world, and a sincere love of God, to entertain such feelings and carry

them out.

The following day he took a plate, and went begging from door to door,

and sat down in the street to eat. At the first mouthful he took of

this disgusting mess, he felt a nausea in his stomach, which made him

recoil. Animated at the same instant by the love of poverty, he became

ashamed of his weakness, and reproached himself for the feeling; after

which, he ate the remainder without reluctance, and with so much relish,

that he thought he had never eaten a better meal. He also felt an

interior joy and strength in his body, which enabled him to bear with

pleasure, for God's sake, whatever might be most severe or bitter.

After having returned fervent thanks to the Father of the poor, who

had given him so wonderful a taste, he went to the priest and entreated

him to take no further trouble with respect to his nourishment,

"because," he said, "I have found an excellent purveyor, and a very

able cook, who can season his dishes in a superior way." He often used

such jocose expressions, which were as much the effect of the spiritual

joy he felt, as of his natural lively and joyous turn of mind.

Bernardo, vexed in the greatest degree at seeing his son begging and

exposed to the jeers of the public, was inflamed with anger, and either

turned from him when he met him, or cursed him. Francis admitted that

these curses affected him more than any other suffering he endured,

and he hit upon a method of protecting himself. It was to take another

poor and miserable man with him, who should be as a father to him. He

was engaged to bless Francis, making the sign of the cross on him

whenever his father cursed him. Francis then said to Bernardo: "Believe

me, my father, that God can give me, and indeed has given me, another

father, from whom I receive blessings for your curses."

His brother Angelo, a young man full of the love of the world, also

mocked him, and turned him into ridicule. Seeing him one day in church

shivering with cold in his poor hermit's dress, and praying devoutly,

he said to one of his friends: "Go and ask him to sell you a little

of his sweat!" Francis replied, "I do not choose to sell my sweat to

men; I can sell it at a better price to God." If all Christians thought

thus, they would not suffer much pain for the world, which pays so

ill, and they would do much for God, who rewards so magnificently.

The pauper of Jesus Christ gained many other victories over himself

in the quest he had taken upon himself for the building of St. Damian.

He suffered with admirable patience the persecution of some worldly

persons, who treated him as a fool, and insulted him in a thousand

ways. Every time that it happened to him to blush when he met any of

his acquaintances or friends, he reprimanded himself as if he had

committed some great fault; he humbled himself the more, and begged

for alms more submissively, to take down all influence of pride. One

day when he was begging for oil for two lamps which he wished to keep

constantly burning before the crucifix, from which the miraculous voice

had been heard, he went into a house where some persons of his

acquaintance were collected together for gaming. Their sight struck

him, and gave him a feeling of shame which induced him to retire. He

had scarcely left the door, when, thinking on what he had done, he

considered himself guilty of a great want of firmness, and he

immediately returned to the place where they were at play, he

acknowledged his fault before all present, and begged boldly for the

lamps of the church in the French language, which set the company into

an immoderate fit of laughter. Such efforts show the truth of the

remark of St. Ambrose: that the saints were no less liable than

ourselves to fall into faults; but that they had greater care to

practise virtue, and to correct the faults into which they fell.

Pious and well-thinking persons remarked that the conduct of Francis

was maintained with an equality of fervor, and they found a high degree

of wisdom in what appeared to the generality of the world to be

littleness of mind and folly. These opinions gradually spread and

brought over many to esteem and venerate him; even those who had

despised and insulted him, came forward to solicit his forgiveness.

The prior of the monastery where he had served in the kitchen, who was

then at Assisi, and who there became acquainted with his rare virtues,

showed him great respect, begged him to pardon the treatment he had

received, and excused himself, by saying, that he could not then be

known under the miserable disguise under which he had hid himself. The

man who had foretold that he would do great things, added to this

prediction, while applauding himself: "You know what I before said to

you of this young man; you only see the beginning of his holiness, but

you will see the continuation: Jesus Christ will do wonders through

him, which all the world will admire."

The dispositions which were now entertained in his regard, procured

for him the means of completing the repairs of St. Damian towards the

close of the year 1206. In the course of this work, it was remarked

that he said to those who passed by, "Assist me in finishing this

building; there will be a monastery here some day of poor females of

holy life, whose reputation will tend to glorify our Heavenly Father

throughout His Holy Church." This was a real prophecy, the

accomplishment of which was witnessed five years afterwards, when he

placed there the holy virgin Clare and her companions, whom he had

consecrated to Jesus Christ. This prophecy was so well known, that

Saint Clare inserted its very words in the will she made in the year

1253.

At the beginning of the year 1207, Francis, not to remain idle,

undertook a new work. He proposed to restore the church of St. Peter,

which was at a little distance from the town, in consequence of the

devotion with which the purity of his faith inspired him towards the

Prince of the Apostles; and this intention was soon put in force,

because, it having been seen how carefully he had made use of the

donations he had received for his first work, he was now furnished

with what he required, more readily and more abundantly. He now was

desirous of effecting some essential repairs to a third church or

chapel, about a mile from Assisi, which was very ancient, but so

deserted and in such a state of ruin, that it only served as a refuge

for herdsmen in bad weather: its name was St. Mary of the Angels, and

Ottavio, Bishop of Assisi, thus describes its foundation:

"In the year of 352, a year after the appearance in the heavens of a

luminous cross on the 7th of May, in broad daylight, over the City of

Jerusalem, which extended from Mount Calvary to the Mountain of Olives,

a cross which was more brilliant than the sun, as St. Cyril, then

bishop of that city, and one of the eye-witnesses of the phenomenon,

relates in his letter to the Emperor Constantius,--four holy hermits

came from Palestine into Italy, and obtained from Pope Liberius leave

to remain in the Valley of Spoleto, and settled themselves in the

vicinity of Assisi, with the permission of the authorities of the town.

There they built a chapel which was called St. Mary of Josaphat, because

they placed in it a relic of the sepulchre of the Blessed Virgin, and

because the altar was consecrated by the title of her glorious

Assumption. In the sixth century it was given to the Religious of the

Order of St. Benedict, who enlarged and strengthened it; and it was

afterwards called St. Mary of the Angels." We shall soon explain the

reason of this. It was also called Portiuncula, because of some portions

of ground which the Benedictines of Mount Saubazo possessed in the

vicinity.

We can easily understand that a man without any property, who was poor

and a beggar, could not have accomplished these works without assistance

from above; but St. Bonaventure finds in it a still further mystery.

He says that Divine Providence, who guided Francis in all his actions,

preordained things in such manner, that he repaired three churches

previous to instituting there his orders, in order that the material

temples should be the types of the three spiritual edifices which he

was to raise up; and that passing from what is perceptible to the

senses, to what is only apparent to the mind, and rising gradually to

what is still more elevated, he was enabled to give to the Church of

Jesus Christ three descriptions of soldiery able to combat for the

reformation of morals, and worthy to triumph gloriously in heaven. We

may add, that the austerities, labors, and humiliations of the servant

of God had been for the two previous years as so many strokes of the

hammer, which rendered him a chosen and living foundation-stone on

which these sacred edifices might be based. Such is the method which

is adopted by our Lord. He prepares all things, and brings them

successively to perfection; instead of which, men are always hurried,

and often endeavor in the way to perfection to advance faster than the

grace which directs them.

Of the three churches which Francis had repaired, he chose that of St.

Mary of the Angels for his residence, in order to honor the Mother of

God and the Celestial Intelligences. St. Bonaventure says that he was

often favored by visits from Angels, on account of the frequent

apparitions of these blessed spirits there. The man of God passed days

and nights there in fervent prayer, when he entreated the Blessed

Virgin, that as she had conceived and brought forth the Word of the

Father, full of grace and truth, she would have the goodness to obtain

for him a participation therein; it was there also, that, by the merits

of this powerful advocate, he had the happiness to conceive and bring

forth, if it may be so expressed, his evangelical life; the precious

fruit of grace and truth, which the Son of God had come to bring upon

earth.

One day when he was assisting in this church at a mass of the Apostles,

which he had requested the priest of St. Damian to say, he listened

attentively to the Gospel where this form of life is prescribed by our

Saviour for the mission of His Apostles: "Do not possess gold, nor

silver, nor money in your purses; nor scrip for your journey, nor two

coats, nor shoes, nor a staff." After mass, he asked the priest to

explain these words to him; he understood the sense of them well, and

impressed them well on his heart, finding in them the image of that

poverty which he loved: "This is what I seek for," he exclaimed, quite

overjoyed, "this is what I desire with my whole heart." At the same

instant he threw away his purse with a feeling of horror for money,

he took off his shoes, he replaced his leather girdle by a cord, and

devoted his thoughts to putting in practice what he had just heard,

and to conforming himself in all things to the Evangelical rule. It

is a vocation similar to that of St. Anthony, of whom St. Athanasius

relates, that having heard in the church these words of Jesus Christ,

"If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give it to the

poor," he went immediately to put this counsel in practice, in order

to attain perfection.

The hermit's tunic, which Francis still retained, appeared to him too

delicate; he therefore got one coarse and rough, of an ash gray, which

came down to the feet, and the sleeves of which reached to the fingers;

to this he added a hood, which covered sufficiently the head and face.

This description of dress he continued to wear during the remainder

of his life, except that the tunic and hood had sometimes more or less

length or breadth, as is seen in his habits which are preserved with

great veneration at Assisi, at Mount Alvernia, and at Florence. Seeking

nothing but poverty and humility, he chose the dress that was the

plainest, the most despicable, and the most likely to make himself

despised by the world, whose vanities he held in utter contempt; it

was also the dress most like to that of the shepherds, and other country

peasants, who chose it to protect them from the weather; or rather he

imitated the prophets, who only covered themselves with a sack, to

which he afterwards added a short cloak.

All the events just narrated happened in the year 1208, which is

reckoned the first year of the Order of St. Francis, because it is the

one in which he took the habit, which he gave in the following year

to such as chose to imitate him, and in which the first stone was laid

which served as a foundation for this spiritual edifice.

Then God inspired him to preach, to exhort sinners to repentance, and

to cause evangelical perfection to be loved in the world. Although he

expressed himself in a very plain manner, his discourses had nothing

in them that was low; they were solid and animated with the Spirit of

God, and so effectually penetrated the hearts of his hearers, that

every one was surprised at it. He always began them by the following

salutation, which he afterwards declared had been revealed to him by

God; "May the Lord grant you His peace." It was noticed that a very

pious man, who was in the habit of addressing the two following words

to all whom he met, "Peace and weal,--Peace and weal!" was not seen

in Assisi after Francis began to preach; as if he wished it to be

understood that his mission had ended by the presence of him whose

precursor he was. In fact, this new preacher was in truth an angel of

peace sent from heaven to reconcile a great number of sinners with

Jesus Christ, and to draw down on them all sorts of benefits.

He joined to the ministry of the word the exercise of every sort of

virtue, and applied himself particularly to prayer, where the sufferings

of our Blessed Saviour made such impression on his soul that he groaned

and sobbed aloud, when he found himself at liberty. One of his friends,

passing by the church of St. Mary of the Angels, having heard him,

went in, and seeing him bathed in tears, reproached him with it as of

a weakness unbecoming in a man. "I weep for the Passion of my Lord

Jesus Christ," answered Francis, "and I ought not to be ashamed of

weeping openly before the whole world." This enviable emotion was in

the heart of St. Augustin, when he said to his people: "The Passion

of Jesus Christ, which the Church puts every year before us, moves and

affects us as if we saw Him personally stretched on the cross; there

are none but the impious who can be insensible to it.--As for me, I

wish to lament with you in considering this affecting spectacle. This

is the time in which to weep, to acknowledge ourselves criminals, and

to pray for mercy. Which of us would have it in his power to shed a

sufficiency of tears to equal the merit of so great and so worthy a

subject of grief?" Every Christian ought to blush, if he is wanting

in these sentiments of gratitude and love.

The words and actions of Francis soon became noised abroad. Some became

converted, and embraced the penitential course he preached. Others

formed the resolution of leaving all and joining him. The first was

Bernard de Quintavalle, a rich and discreet man, of one of the best

families of Assisi, who had great influence in the town, and guided

it by his advice. This respectable man, as St. Bonaventure called him,

considering the contempt with which Francis viewed all the things of

this world, was desirous of ascertaining whether it was in truth an

effect of sanctity, or of littleness of mind. He invited him, therefore,

to supper and to sleep at his house, and had a bed prepared for him

in his room. While he feigned to sleep soundly, he saw by the light

of a lamp Francis get up, fall on his knees, melt into tears, his eyes

raised to heaven, his arms crossed, pronounce slowly these words:

_"Deus meus et omnia,"_--"My God, and my all," which he repeated

during the whole night. So ardent and so tender an expression is quite

convincing that he was then in an exalted state of contemplation, where

interior communications made him sensible that the Lord was especially

his God, and filled the whole soul. Happy he who can with truth say,

_Deus meus et omnia_. For this it is requisite that he should belong

wholly to God, and that the world should be nothing to him.

Bernard did not interrupt Francis in his holy exercise, but, filled

with devotional feelings, he said to himself, "Truly this is a man of

God." After having put him to other proofs, he resolved to give all

his goods to the poor and follow him, and he put this question to him:

"If a man had received from his master a certain portion for several

years, and then wished no longer to make use of it, what do you think

it would be best for him to do?" Francis said in answer, that he ought

to return it to the master from whom he had received it. "It is I,"

replied Bernard, "who have received a great deal from God, and much

more than I have deserved; I return it willingly into His hands, and

place it at your disposal; for I mean to attach myself to you." At

these words, Francis, delighted to find that God began the

accomplishment of his works by so worthy a personage: "Your intention,"

he said, "is one of great importance; you must consult God upon it,

to learn from Him how you are to put it in execution. Early to-morrow

morning we will ask the Curate of St. Nicholas, who is known to be a

most worthy man, to say a mass for us, and after having heard it, we

will continue in prayer till the hour of Tierce." We see in this the

mode of acting of one who has the spirit of God; he hurries nothing,

he has recourse to prayer, and he makes use of the ordinary practices

of the Church.

The following day they did what they had proposed; after which, Francis,

who had great devotion to the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity,

opened three times in their honor the book of the Gospels, entreating

the Almighty to confirm, by the testimony of their texts, Bernard's

holy resolution. At the first opening they found the following: "If

thou wilt be perfect, go sell all thou hast, and give it to the poor."

At the second: "Take nothing for the journey." At the third: "If any

man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up the cross,

and follow Me." Then Francis, addressing himself to Bernard, said:

"There is the life we must lead, the rule we must follow, you and I,

and all those who shall desire to join us. Go thou and put in execution

what thou hast just heard."

The new disciple, intimately convinced that his design came from God,

sold, as fast as he could, all his effects, from which he got a

considerable sum, which he had carried to the Square of St. George,

and distributed it entirely among the poor whom he could collect.

Francis then gave him a habit similar to his own; he called him his

eldest son, and was always tenderly attached to him: he was indeed a

most holy man.

Peter of Catania, Canon of the Church of St. Ruffinus, the Cathedral

of Assisi, edified by the self-denial and charity of Bernard, was

disposed to become a disciple of the same master, and received the

penitential habit on the same day, which was the 16th of April. All

three retired to a hut which had been deserted, near to a rivulet

called _Rivo Torto_, on account of its winding so very much.

Seven days after that, a very pious man called Giles, who was greatly

looked up to in Assisi, on his return from the country learnt what his

two fellow-citizens had done, which had excited the admiration of the

whole town, and felt an ardent wish to imitate them, and thus carry

out an intention he had entertained of devoting himself to the service

of God. He passed the following night in prayer, when he was inspired

to offer himself to Francis, for whom he had already great esteem, on

account of the extreme contempt of the world and of himself, which was

remarked in the whole of his conduct. In the morning he went to the

Church of St. George, whose festival it was, there to implore the

saint's intercession, that he might find him whom he was seeking, of

whose abode he was ignorant. Seeing out of the town three roads, without

knowing which to take, he addressed the following prayer to God: "O

Lord, most holy Father, I entreat Thee by Thy mercy, if I am to

persevere in this holy vocation, so to guide my steps that I may arrive

at the place where Thy servant lives whom I am seeking." He took one

of the three roads as God inspired him; and as he walked full of his

holy project, Francis, who was at prayer in a neighboring wood, came

out to meet him.

As soon as Giles saw him, he went to him, and threw himself at his

feet, and begged the favor of being received into his society. The

holy man, who was at once satisfied of the faith and piety of the

postulant, replied: "My brother, your request is that God would receive

you as His servant and soldier. This is no small favor. It is as if

the emperor were to come to Assisi, and wish to make choice of a

favorite; each one would say, 'I wish to God it may be myself.' It is

thus God has made choice of you." He assured him that his vocation

came from heaven and exhorted him to persevere. Then presenting him

to Bertrand and Peter, he said: "Here is a good brother, whom God has

sent us." And when he was alone with them, he told them that Giles

would one day excel in sublime virtue.

After a slender meal, and a spiritual conference, Francis set out with

his new postulant for Assisi, to procure what was requisite for

clothing. On the way, a woman having asked charity of them, the Saint

turned to Giles, and with an angelic countenance, said: "My dear

brother, let us give this poor woman the cloak you have on for the

love of God." Giles gave it immediately, and it seemed to him that

this alms ascended to heaven, which filled him with great joy. They

begged at Assisi for some very coarse cloth, with which Francis clothed

his third disciple, in the small hut where he instructed him in the

religious exercises of a religious life.

Francis did not permit his disciples long to enjoy the sweetness of

a life of retirement. Having informed them that they were bound to go

forth to instruct their neighbors by unstudied words and an edifying

life, he sent Bernard and Peter into Emilia, and set out himself with

Giles for the March of Ancona.

These apostolic men preached everywhere the grandeur and goodness of

God, the obligation of each one to love Him, to obey His love, and to

do penance. When they wanted the necessaries of life, they rejoiced,

as if it were a treasure that they had purchased at the price of all

they had possessed. Some persons received them obligingly, and did

them good offices; but the singularity of their dress, and the rigor

of their mode of life, shocked most of those who saw them. They were

even frequently insulted, covered with mud, dragged by their hood, and

severely beaten: this they joyfully bore, judging from the interior

profit which they derived from it, that it was greatly to their

advantage.

Their virtue, nevertheless, caused them to be treated at times with

respect, and honors were even rendered to them. This mortified them,

Giles in particular, who only gloried in the mortifications which he

suffered for Jesus Christ's sake, and could not bear to be so honored.

He said to his father: "When men honor us, we lose our glory." He also

expressed to him his dissatisfaction that the mode of greeting which

he had taught them, "May the Lord grant you His peace," was ill received

by the men of the world. "Pardon them," replied Francis, "for they

know not what they do. I verily assure you that hereafter there will

be many nobles and princes who will respect you and your brethren,

when you shall address those words to them." He foretold to him likewise

that his Institute would spread, and that it might aptly be compared

to a net which a fisherman casts into the river, with which he catches

a multitude of fish.

The pious missionaries having gone through several towns, and given

great satisfaction, returned to the hut at Rivo Torto, when a fourth

disciple offered himself: his name was Sabbatin.

Morique, a religious of the Order of Crosiers, or cross-bearers, was

the fifth. Being sick, and in extremity, given over and abandoned by

the medical men of the hospital of St. Saviour of Assisi, where all

strangers were received, he got himself recommended to the prayers of

Francis, who willingly prayed for him, and mixed a little crumb of

bread with the oil of the lamp which burnt before the altar of St.

Mary of the Angels. This he sent him by two of his brethren, saying

to them: "Take this to our dear Brother Morique. The power of Jesus

Christ will not only restore him to perfect health, but will cause him

to become a generous soldier, who will enter into our militia, and

will persevere in it." The sick man had hardly swallowed the remedy

when he was quite cured, and he soon after entered the Institute of

his charitable physician, in which he lived in prodigious austerity

during a long life, and enjoyed perfect health.

A sixth disciple, called John, and surnamed De Capella, began well,

but finished ill. He was employed to distribute to his brethren what

was given to them in alms, and he took willingly the trouble of

procuring for them what was wanted. But by little and little he got

attached to temporal things, went too much abroad, and was very much

relaxed from the regular discipline. The holy founder having frequently

reprimanded him severely, and without effect, he threatened him for

his contumacy with a severe illness and a miserable death. In fact,

this unworthy religious was stricken with a horrible leprosy, which

he had not patience to endure. He forsook the poor of Jesus Christ,

his companions, and, letting himself fall into despair, he hanged

himself, as Judas had done.

St. Antonius remarks that the life of St. Francis was in conformity

with that of Jesus Christ, even in the circumstance of having had an

unworthy disciple. He only became such by his depraved will; but God

in His wisdom made him serve as an example to show that we may be lost

even in the most holy states of life if we cease to labor with fear

and trembling for our salvation. Peter Rodulphus, Bishop of Sinigaglia,

in the Duchy of Urbino, adds, that the loss of one of the first children

of St. Francis, and still more that of Judas in the Apostolic College,

should induce those who are inclined to think ill and contemptibly of

a whole order, on account of the ill-behavior of some individual, to

reform their method of forming their opinions.

Among the instructions which Francis gave to his disciples, he laid

great stress on poverty, the practice of which might appear to them

to be very severe. In order to render them wise herein by experience,

and to make them feel that their subsistence depended on the charity

of the faithful, he took them all into Assisi, and made them beg from

door to door. This voluntary mendicity, which seemed new, and which

had hardly been seen till then, drew down upon them derision, contempt,

rebuffs, and angry words. In one place they were treated as sluggards

and idlers, and turned away with curses; in another they were told

they were fools to have given up their own property to go begging from

other people. The parents and relatives of those who were thus begging,

asserted that their families were dishonored by these practices, and

made loud complaints. There were, however, some who respected their

poverty, and aided them with good will. Such was the feeling of the

public of those times in regard to evangelical poverty, which differs

but little from what it is in our own days.

After this quest, Francis went to report to the Bishop of Assisi the

proceedings of his new soldiers. This worthy prelate, who greatly

valued him, and gave him his support on all occasions, could not help

telling him then, that he thought the sort of life he had chosen, in

which they gave up all possessions whatsoever, hard and grievous. "As

to me," replied the holy man, "I find it still harder and more grievous

to possess anything; for one cannot take care of what one possesses

without much solicitude and embarrassment. It gives rise to lawsuits,

which must be undertaken; sometimes people are obliged to take up arms

to protect it; and all this extinguishes the love of God and of our

neighbor." The bishop approved of his remarks, and once more promised

him his protection. It is true that the state of voluntary poverty in

which a person possesses nothing whatever, has its inconveniences; and

where does human corruption fail to find such? But it cannot be denied

that the state in question is very favorable to salvation, since it

is based upon the counsel of Jesus Christ; and that, on the contrary,

the possession of property is dangerous for salvation, since He Himself

has said emphatically: "How hardly shall they that have riches enter

into the kingdom of God."

While the Evangelical poor continued at Rivo Torto, the Emperor Otho

IV, who was on his way to Rome with a great train, in order to be

consecrated and crowned by Innocent III, passed by their hut. They

were too mortified to pay any attention to the pomp of his retinue;

but Francis ordered one of them to go to the emperor and tell him that

all the glory which surrounded him would be but of short duration. The

religious obeyed, and boldly told the emperor what had been commanded.

The prediction displeased the prince, who, nevertheless, admitted from

the event that it was well founded. For, having violated his coronation

oath, and committed various injustices towards the Church, he was

excommunicated the following year by the same Pope; and afterwards

deprived of his empire, and abandoned by the whole world. It is thus

that the greatness of the world, so fickle in itself, and always put

an end to by death, falls sometimes even before that, by misconduct,

and by the just judgments of God.

Zeal for the salvation of souls induced Francis to move his small troop

into the Valley of Rieti. He halted at an abandoned hermitage on a

large rock, which he thought to be a convenient place for entering

into conversation with God.

Being at prayer one day on this rock, and ruminating in the bitterness

of his soul on his past years, he was assured, by a fresh inspiration

of the Holy Ghost, that his sins were forgiven him, which filled him

with joy. We cannot doubt but that his sins had been remitted him at

the period of his conversion, by sincere contrition and the sacrament

of penance. But in this happy moment he received the assurance thereof

by revelation, and he learnt at the same time that the remission was

entire, that is to say, that all the temporal punishment due to his

sins had been remitted.

St. Bridget, whose revelations are sanctioned and respected by the

Church, relates that she learnt from our Saviour that, when Francis

retired from the world to enter on the way of perfection, he obtained

from God a lively sorrow for his sins, which enabled him to say: "There

is nothing on earth which I am not heartily willing to give up; nothing

so laborious and so toilsome that I would not joyfully endure, nothing

that I would not undertake, according to the strength of my body and

soul, for the glory of my Lord Jesus Christ; and I will, as far as is

possible, excite and induce all others to love God with their whole

hearts, and above all other things." Such beautiful sentiments, well

lived up to and exemplified by actions and conduct, would give us, not

an entire assurance as to the remission of our sins, but a firm and

well-founded confidence thereof.

The holy penitent received with this plenary indulgence the grace of

an ecstasy, wherein, by a bright illumination from on high, God

communicated to him what was to occur to his order. When he returned

to join his disciples he said:--"Take courage, my dear children, rejoice

in the Lord. Be not cast down at the smallness of your numbers. Let

not my simplicity nor yours alarm you, for God has shown me clearly

that, by His blessing, He will spread this family of which He is the

Father, into all parts of the world. I should wish to be silent on all

that I have seen, but charity compels me to communicate it to you. I

saw a great multitude coming to us to take a similar habit, and to

lead the same life. I saw all the roads filled with men who walked

hither, and hastened themselves very much. They came in great numbers,

French, Spaniards, Germans, English, and from almost all nations. The

noise of such as come and go, to execute the orders of holy obedience,

still sounds in my ears."

So magnificent a prediction reminds us of the prophet Isaias on the

establishment of the Church: "Jerusalem, thou who sayest, I am barren!

lift up thine eyes and look all around thee. All this vast multitude

surrenders itself up to thee. I see them coming from afar--some from

the North, others from the West, others from the land of the South;

a thousand will come forth from the smallest among them, and from the

very least a great people."

The event has verified, in the eyes of the universe, the prophecy of

the holy Patriarch. There was in a very short time a great number of

religious; his order extended itself to all parts with astonishing

rapidity, and it has multiplied itself so wonderfully for seven

centuries, that it may be looked upon as a representation of the birth

and progress of the Church.

The disciples, greatly comforted by what they had just heard and

persuaded that their master had the spirit of prophecy, entreated him

to inform them what would in future be the situation of his Order. He

explained to them in parables the good which would be effected by it,

and at the same time the relaxations which would be introduced into

its discipline, in order that the graces of God, which were to be

bestowed on it, might excite their utmost gratitude, and that the fear

of their weakness and want of fervor might render them vigilant and

humble.

The odor of sanctity which issued through the environs of the hermitage,

and the holiness of their lives, brought many persons to them for

instruction, and to profit from the edification they would receive.

A very worthy person, whose name was Philip the Long, was desirous of

entering the state of Evangelical poverty. Francis made him his seventh

disciple, and he brought them all back to the hut at Rivo Torto. In

this holy retreat he spoke to them frequently of the Kingdom of God,

of the contempt of the world, of renouncing of their own will, of the

mortification of the senses, and other maxims of a spiritual life. He

opened to them also his intention of sending them into the four parts

of the world; for, with the seven children which evangelical poverty

and simplicity had given him, it was his wish to bring all the faithful

to penance, and to generate them in some measure anew by the word of

truth, to give them, or rather to restore them, to Jesus Christ. In

fine, he told all his disciples openly, but with great humility, that

the Divine Majesty had, in His wisdom, decided to employ them, and the

companions they should aggregate to their community, to renew the face

of the earth, by their preaching and their example, in order that the

losses the Church had sustained by the corruption of morals, might be

made good; and that it was for this purpose that grace had put it in

their power so promptly to exercise the holy ministry. In order to

prepare them for this mission, he made them the following discourse,

which is worthy of being recorded at full length, in the words in which

it has been preserved by his companions, to whom it was addressed:--

"Let us consider, my dear brethren, what our vocation is. It is not

only for our own salvation that God has called us by His mercy, but

it is for the salvation of many others. It is in order that we should

exhort all the world, more by example than by words, to do penance and

to keep the Divine precepts. We are looked upon as senseless and

contemptible, but let not this depress you; take courage, and be

confident that our Lord, who conquered the world, will speak

efficaciously through you. Let us be cautious, after having given up

all, not to lose the kingdom of heaven for a trifling gain. If we find

money anywhere, let us consider it as valueless as the dust which we

tread under our feet. Let us not judge and despise the rich who live

in luxury and wear the ornaments of vanity. God is their Lord, as He

is ours; He may call them and justify them; we must honor them as our

brethren, and as our masters. They are our brethren, because we have

all the same Maker; and they are our masters, because they befriend

the good by the assistance they afford them. Go then, and exhort men

to do penance for the remission of their sins, and for peace. You will

find some among the faithful mild and good, who will receive you with

pleasure and willingly listen to you. Others, on the contrary, people

without religion, proud and violent, will censure you, and be very

hostile to you. But make up your minds to bear all this with humble

patience, and let nothing alarm you. In a very short time many learned

and noble persons will join themselves to you, to preach to kings, to

princes, and to nations. Be therefore patient in tribulations, fervent

in prayer, and fearless in labor. Be unassuming in speech, be grave

in your manner, and grateful for the favors and benefits you may

receive. The kingdom of God, which is eternal, will be your reward.

I entreat the one and only God, who lives and reigns in three Persons,

to grant it to us, as He doubtless will grant it to us, if we are

faithful to fulfil all that we have voluntarily promised."

This discourse filled them with fresh ardor. They threw themselves at

the feet of the holy man, and joyfully received the orders he gave

them, in addressing to each one of them these words of the psalmist,

which he was accustomed to repeat when he gave those instructions which

required obedience: "Cast thy care upon the Lord, and He shall sustain

thee." Having divided the routes they were to take, by forming a cross

which pointed to the four quarters of the globe, and knowing that he

was to be the model for his brethren, he took one side for himself

with a companion, and sent the other six, two and two, to the other

sides. Wherever they found a church, they prostrated and made use of

this formula, which they had learnt from their Father: "We adore Thee,

O most holy Lord Jesus Christ! here and in all Thy churches which are

in the whole world, and we bless Thee for having redeemed the world

by Thy holy cross." They had a great veneration for all chapels, for

all crosses, and for all that had any relation to the worship of God.

As soon as any one addressed them, they wished him peace, and instructed

him in the way to gain it. If any one appeared to them to have strayed

from the way of salvation, they endeavored to bring him back in a mild

and humble manner. In their sermons they spoke ingenuously whatever

was inspired them by the Holy Ghost, pointed out the true way to heaven,

showed what were the duties of charity, and endeavored to bring all

to love and fear the Creator and keep His holy commandments.

When they were asked from what country they came, and to what profession

they belonged, they replied: "We are penitents come from Assisi;" for

they would not as yet give the name of religion to their society. There

were worthy people who received them with pleasure; but there were

many others who disapproved of their habit, their institute, their

discourses, imagining also that it was dangerous to give them

house-room, and that alms ought not even to be given to them; so that

these poor of Jesus Christ, cast off on all sides, had often to pass

the nights under porticos.

Bernard and Giles went as far as Florence. A pious individual named

Guy offered them some money, which they refused, and when it was wished

to know from them, why, being so poor, they would not take it, they

made this answer: "We have left all that we possessed, according to

the Evangelical counsel. We have voluntarily embraced poverty, and we

have renounced the use of money." So perfect a detachment, joined to

an ardent zeal for the salvation of souls, and to sublime virtues, and

particularly a patience full of meekness and charity in the midst of

insults and injurious treatment, caused them to be looked upon in the

town as holy personages; they were consulted in cases of conscience,

and dwellings were offered them.

While these Apostolic men continued their mission, Francis, guided by

the Spirit of God, returned to the hut at Rivo Torto, where he received

four additional disciples: Constantius, or John of St. Constantius;

Barbarus; Bernard of Viridant, or Vigilantius; and Sylvester, who was

a priest He was the first in the order, and his vocation was marvellous,

of which the following are the circumstances.

He had sold some stones to St. Francis for the Church of St. Damian,

and had received the payment of their value. When he saw him preside

over the distribution of the property of Bernard de Quintavalle, he

complained of having been injured in the sale of the stones, and

demanded a compensation. The servant of God, who did not choose to

have any dispute with him on the subject, taking a bag full of money,

gave him handfuls, saying: "Take this for the payment you demand from

me, but which I do not owe you." He offered him some a second time,

but Sylvester would not take it, but left him well satisfied with what

he had got. At night the injustice of what he had done occurred to

him; he conceived a sincere sorrow for it, asked pardon of God, and

promised to restore what he had extorted to the prejudice of the poor.

Nevertheless, he formed his opinion of Francis according to the ideas

of the world, and he looked with disgust on his mode of life. God was

pleased to will that he should be cured of this prejudice, which was

dangerous for his salvation, and that he should surrender himself to

the saint as one of his disciples, which was effected by means of a

mysterious dream. During the night he saw a horrible dragon, which

surrounded the town of Assisi, as if about to destroy it, together

with the entire country. Francis immediately came forth, and from his

mouth there came forth a golden cross, which reached up to heaven, and

the arms of it extended to the extremities of the earth, and its

splendor put the dragon to flight. Having had this dream three

successive nights, he perceived in it something divine, and he went

and related it to Francis, with the minutest exactness. This humble

servant of Jesus Christ, far from having the least complacency at it,

only made use of it to admire the goodness of God who grants such

favors, and to animate himself to combat the infernal dragon with

renovated energy, and publish the glory of the cross of our Saviour.

But Sylvester, profiting by the grace attached to the vision, was not

satisfied with restoring what he had unjustly extorted; he resolved,

moreover, to leave all that he possessed, to embrace poverty under the

guidance of Francis, which his affairs did not permit him to carry

into execution till the end of the year 1209. St. Bonaventure says,

that on authentic proof of the truth of the vision was the holiness

of the life he led when in the order. In fact, he undertook so sincerely

to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, and made such vast progress

in prayer, that, according to the account of this blessed Father, he

conversed with God in a manner nearly similar to what is written of

Moses: "That the Lord spoke to him as a man is accustomed to speak to

his friend."

Francis, full of the tenderest feelings for his children, was desirous

of having them all assembled together. He entreated the Lord, who had

in former times congregated the people of Israel dispersed among the

nations, to do him a similar favor in regard to his small family, and

his prayer was heard. The six who were out on missions returned to

Assisi from various places, as if they had acted in concert, without

having any notice given them. The pleasure which their return gave him

was greatly increased by the sincere and modest recital which they

made him of all that had passed in their travels for the glory of God

and the benefit of their neighbor. They gave an account, with evident

joy, of the outrages and blows they had endured and suffered, pleased

to have been found worthy to undergo those trials in the service of

Jesus Christ. The last comers envied them, and were only consoled by

the thought and hope that a time would come when they would be employed

in this holy warfare, and, should an opportunity be given them, of

displaying equal courage; the seniors embraced the latter, and

congratulated them on having chosen this holy estate of life: they all

exhorted each other to perseverance.

Their common Father brought them up in the practice of the most rigorous

penances, but with the utmost mildness and kindness. He did not impose

upon them any considerable number of prayers because he was not desirous

of compelling devotion, and rather wished that these exercises of piety

should be spontaneous. He only then prescribed to them to say daily,

for each part of the Divine Office, the Lord's Prayer three times, and

to hear Mass, at which he desired they should employ themselves in

meditating on the mystery. It is, in fact, the very best way of

assisting at the Holy Sacrifice, and the faithful should be advised

to practise it. But those are not to be censured who make use of vocal

prayer during Mass, provided they do so with attention and piety in

the very spirit of the mystery;--since there is nothing in prayer but

what is good, and because, moreover, every one has not the talent of

meditation.

The servant of God, considering that the number of his brethren

increased, thought seriously of forming a Rule for them, and having

assembled the eleven, the number they then were, he said to them: "I

see, my dear brethren, that God, in His infinite goodness, proposes

to extend our society; it is therefore necessary that we should

prescribe for ourselves a rule of life, and go and give an account

thereof to the most holy Roman Pontiff; for I am persuaded that in

matters of faith, and in such as concern religious orders, nothing can

be done which is pure and stable without his consent and approbation.

Let us then go and find our Mother, the Holy Roman Church. Let us make

known to our Holy Father the Pope, what God has deigned to begin through

our ministry, in order that we may pursue our course according to his

will, and under his orders."

A celebrated Bishop of France said, in an assembly of his clergy:

"Paul, having returned from the third heaven, came to see Peter, in

order to give a form to all future ages, and that it be established

forever, that, however learned or holy we may be, were any of us another

St. Paul, we must see Peter." These sentiments are in entire accordance

with those of St. Francis, and contain an important principle, from

which it is easy to deduce the consequence.

All the disciples applauded the proposal of their master, declaring

that they were ready to receive the rule that he would give them, and

to go to Rome to solicit its confirmation. Francis betook himself to

prayer, and composed, in a plain, unadorned style, in twenty-three

chapters, a rule of life, the immovable basis of which was the

observance of the Gospel; to which he added some exercises, which he

considered necessary for the sake of uniformity. Besides the three

vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, they renounced all possessions

whatsoever, and they bound themselves to live on charity without ever

receiving money. Clerics and laymen were alike admitted to embrace

this Institute, under the name of Friars Minor. There were also some

regulations relative to the Divine Office, prayer, the practice of

virtue, fasts, the bareness of the feet, preaching, and the missions,

which will be noticed when we come to speak of the second rule which

the Patriarch gave in the year 1223, which they keep in his Order, and

which is nothing more than an abridgment of the first. This first

having been read and accepted, Francis with his brethren set out for

Rome, to which, through humility, he chose that Bernard de Quintavalle

should lead them.

They pursued their journey with great simplicity, only speaking of God

and of things calculated for edification; they often retired to some

by-place for the purpose of praying, without troubling themselves

where they should pass the night; and God raised up persons who received

them hospitably. By an effect of His Providence, they went out of their

way to go to Rieti, where they remained two days. Francis met in one

of the streets an officer of the army, whose name was Angelo Tancred.

He was quite unknown to him, but, nevertheless, he accosted him by his

name, and said: "Angelo, you have worn long enough your spurs, your

sword, and your belt; it is time that you should have a thick cord

instead of a belt; the Cross of Jesus Christ instead of a sword; and

mud and dust instead of spurs. Follow me, therefore, and I will make

you a soldier of Jesus Christ." At the very moment the officer quitted

all things, followed Francis, took his poor habit, and became his

twelfth disciple, who now by their number resembled the twelve Apostles,

whose lives they revered. This wonderful conversion shows that God

sometimes moves sinners by his active and powerful grace; as when He

said to Matthew, "Follow me," and Matthew followed Him. But it must

also make us reflect that, in the ordinary course of things, He invites

to repentance by graces, the impressions of which upon the mind are

not so active.

The holy Patriarch continued his route, placing his entire confidence

in God; but the others became alarmed at their own simplicity, they

were fearful that it would impede their design; but God removed their

fears by a vision which their holy Father had. It seemed to him that

he was walking along a way where there was a very high tree. Coming

near it, he went under it to admire it, when all on a sudden he felt

himself raised up in the air by divine power, so that he had reached

the top of the tree, and that from thence he easily made the tallest

branches bend quite to the ground. The Holy Spirit pointed out to him

that this was a presage of the favorable issue of his application to

the Apostolic throne. This filled him with joy, and his recital of it

to his brethren renovated their courage.

The Bishop of Assisi, whom they found at Rome, received them with great

kindness. The sight of them at first gave him some uneasiness, being

apprehensive that it was their intention to leave his diocese, and

that his people would be deprived of the examples of these holy men.

But having learnt from them the motive of their journey, he promised

them to use his influence in their favor, and gave them hopes of

succeeding through the intervention of Cardinal John of St. Paul,

Bishop of Sabina, who was his intimate friend.

This prelate was of the Colonna family; he was the friend of the poor,

and of all worthy persons; he was respected for his many eminent

qualities, and had great authority at the Roman court. What the Bishop

of Assisi had already told him of Francis and his companions, of their

holy life, and of the singularity of their Institute, had excited in

him a great wish to see them. As soon as he had heard of their arrival,

he had them brought to his palace, received them with great honor, and

was so pleased with their conversation, that, after having assured

them of his favor, he begged them to consider him from thenceforward

as one of themselves. He also declared himself their protector, and

by his interference he soon procured for them the friendship of the

principal persons in the Sacred College, particularly that of Cardinal

Ugolini, nephew to the Pope, and subsequently Pope by the name of

Gregory IX.

Francis, who was anxious to get his affairs expeditiously brought to

a termination, got himself introduced to the Pope by an officer of his

acquaintance. The Pope, who was walking at that moment in a place

called the Mirror, and being deeply engaged respecting some difficult

affairs of the Church, would not so much as listen to him, but repulsed

him rudely as a stranger of no very respectable appearance. The servant

of God humbly withdrew; and it is recorded that he then restored to

sight a blind man who had had his eyes torn out. The Holy Father saw

in his sleep a palm-tree grow slowly at his feet and become a fine

large tree. Pleased with what he saw, but not understanding its meaning,

he learnt by a Divine inspiration that the palm-tree represented the

poor man whom he had ungraciously repulsed the day before. As soon as

it was day, he gave directions that the poor man should be sought for.

He was found in the hospital of St. Anthony, and came to the feet of

the Pope, and laid before him the rule of life he followed, with

energetic though humble solicitations for His Holiness's approval

thereof.

Innocent III, a Pontiff of great wisdom, acknowledged the candor and

the admirable courage and zeal of the servant of God. He received him

into his favor as one truly poor in Jesus Christ, and he was inclined

to comply with his request; however, he postponed doing so, because

his mode of life appeared novel to some of the cardinals, and so much,

beyond what human strength could endure; the evil times, and the

coldness of charity, making them think it very difficult and almost

impossible for an order to subsist without possessing any effects

whatever.

Cardinal John of St. Paul was indignant at these obstacles, and he

expressed himself with great warmth to the other cardinals in presence

of the Pope. "If you reject the prayers of this poor man, on the

pretence that his rule is novel, and too austere, let us take care

that we do not reject the Gospel itself; since the rule of which he

solicits the approval, is in conformity with what the Gospel teaches;

for, to say that Evangelical perfection, or the vow to practise it,

contains anything unreasonable and impossible, is to blaspheme against

Jesus Christ, the author of the Gospel." The Pope, struck with this

reasoning, said to Francis: "My son, pray to Jesus Christ that He may

make known His will to us, that so we may favor your wishes." The

servant of God retired to pray, and soon after returned and set forth

this parable.

"Most Holy Father, there was a beautiful young girl, who was very poor,

and who lived in a wilderness. The king of the country, who saw her,

was so charmed with her beauty that he took her for his wife. He lived

some years with her, and had children, who all resembled their father,

and had, nevertheless, the beauty of their mother; he then came back

to his court. The mother brought up her children with great care, and

after some time said to them: 'My children, you are born of a great

king, go and find him, tell him who you are, and he will give you all

that is befitting your birth. As to myself, I will not leave this

desert, and I even cannot.' The children went to the king's court,

who, seeing their resemblance to himself, and that they had the beauty

of their mother, received them with pleasure, and said to them: 'Yes,

you are my true children, and I will support you as the children of

a king; for, if I have strangers in my pay, if I maintain my officers

with what is served at my table, how much more care should I not have

for my own children, the offspring of so beautiful a mother! As I love

the mother extremely, I will keep the children she has had by me at

my court, and I will feed them at my table.'

"This king, most Holy Father," continued Francis, "is our Lord Jesus

Christ. This beautiful girl is poverty, which, being everywhere despised

and cast off, was found in this world as in a desert. The King of kings

coming down from Heaven, and coming upon earth, was so enamored of

her, that He married her in the manger. He has had several children

by her in the desert of this world, Apostles, Anchorites, Cenobites,

and many others, who have voluntarily embraced poverty. This good

mother sent them to their Father with the marks of royal poverty, as

well as of her humility and obedience. This great King received them

kindly, promising to maintain them, and said to them: 'I who cause my

sun to shine on the just and on sinners, who give my table and my

treasures to pagans and to heretics, food, clothing, and many other

things, how much more willingly shall I give to you what is necessary

for you,--for you and all those who are born in the poverty of my

much-cherished Spouse.'"

"It is to this celestial King, most Holy Father, that this Lady, His

spouse, sends her children whom you see here, who are not of a lower

condition than those who came long before them. They do not degenerate;

they have the comeliness both of their Father and their mother, since

they make profession of the most perfect poverty. There is, therefore,

no fear of their dying of poverty, being the children and heirs of the

Immortal King, born of a poor mother, of the image of Jesus Christ,

by the virtue of the Holy Ghost; and being to be brought up in the

spirit of poverty in a very poor order. If the King of heaven promises

that such as imitate Him shall reign with Him eternally, with how much

more confidence ought we believe that He will give them what He usually

gives, with so much liberality, to the good and to the bad."

The Pope listened very attentively to the parable and to its

application. He was greatly pleased with it, and had no doubt but that

Jesus Christ spoke by the mouth of Francis. He was also convinced by

an interior light of the Holy Spirit, that in him a celestial vision

which he had but some days before would be accomplished, and which,

as St. Bonaventure informs us, he himself related. While he slept, he

saw that the Lateran Church was on the point of falling, when a poor

and miserable man supported it on his shoulders. On which he exclaimed:

"Yes truly, it is that man who will support the Church of Jesus Christ

by his works and by his doctrine." He thus foretold the great service

Francis and his children would render to the universal Church, which

indeed they have rendered, and, for the last six centuries, have not

ceased to render: this was what was prefigured by the vision; although

it has been remarked as something very singular, that the Lateran

Church has been repaired, improved and ornamented by three Popes, the

children of the blessed Patriarch, to wit, Nicholas IV, Sixtus IV, and

Sixtus V.

Innocent III, moved and greatly affected by these celestial portents,

conceived for Francis a most tender friendship, which he preserved

ever after. He approved his rule verbally, granted him several other

favors, and promised many more. After having received in his own hands

the profession of the founder, and of those who accompanied him, he

directed him to preach penance in all parts, and to labor for the

extension of the Catholic faith. In order to enable them to employ

themselves more freely in preaching, and to assist the priest with

greater dignity in the performance of the holy mysteries, he directed

that the lay brethren who were then with them, should receive the

Tonsure, and wear small crowns; he even conferred minor orders on them,

and deacon's orders on Francis, whom he constituted Superior General

of all the Religious of the Order of Friars Minor, present and to come.

Those who were present promised obedience to Francis, and Francis

promised to obey the Pope. The pious Pontiff gave this new Patriarch,

with paternal kindness, instructions in various matters which related

to the well-being and strengthening of the Institution, and he assured

him of his peculiar favor; and finally, having embraced each one of

them, he gave them his blessing, and dismissed them filled with joy

and consolation.

We have witnessed these favors renewed in 1723 by Innocent XIII, of

happy memory, the fifth Pope of the ancient and illustrious house of

the Counts of Segni, to which Innocent III belonged. The Holy Father,

assisted by four cardinals, had the goodness to preside at the general

chapter of the Order of St. Francis, held at Rome in the convent of

Ara Coeli, making known to all Christendom on that splendid occasion,

that he looked upon the Friars Minor as his children, as much from

family affection, as from his dignity of Supreme Pontiff.

The illustrious author of the "Variations," who quotes the Abbot of

Ursperg, says that it was to give the Church true poor, more denuded

and more humble than the false poor of Lyons, that Pope Innocent III

approved the institution of the Friars Minor assembled under Francis,

who was a model of humility, and the wonder of the age. The false poor,

who are also known by the name of Vaudois, and are placed in the number

of heretics by Pope Lucius III, assumed the exterior of poverty and

humility, although they had none of the spirit of poverty and humility.

They were filled with hatred of the Church and its ministers, whom

they reviled in their secret assemblies. In 1212 they feigned

submission, and had the daring to go to Rome, to solicit the approbation

of the Holy See for their sect, but they were rejected by the Pope,

and from that time were obstinate and incorrigible heretics.

Conrad, Abbot of Ursperg, who was at Rome when they came there in 1212

with Bernard their master, remarks that the Friars Minor were very

different from the false poor, practised poverty with sincerity, and

were free from all errors; that they went barefooted in winter, as

well as in summer; that they received no money, and lived wholly on

alms, and were in everything obedient to the Holy Apostolic See; an

obedience which will ever be a mark by which true virtue may be

distinguished from false.

Francis, finding himself protected by the Almighty, and authorized by

the Pope, acquired great confidence. He placed his most apostolical

Order under the immediate protection of the holy Apostle, whose tomb

he visited. He took leave of the Cardinals, John of St. Paul, and

Ugolini, whom he made acquainted with his intentions, and to whom he

expressed his great gratitude; then he took his departure from Rome

with his twelve companions, and bent his steps to the Valley of Spoleto,

there to practise and preach the Gospel.

On the way he conversed with them on the means of adhering faithfully

to the rule, and relative to the manner in which they should strive

to attain perfection, so that they might be examples to others. One

day the conference lasted so long, that the hour for their meal passed

by without their having stopped; finding himself tired, they went a

little out of the way to rest. They were very hungry, but they had no

means of satisfying their craving. There then came to them a man who

brought them a loaf, and immediately disappeared, without their having

had it in their power to notice from what side he had come, or which

way he had gone from them. Then, says St. Bonaventure, Divine Providence

came to the aid of the poor of Jesus Christ, when all human assistance

failed them. They were well aware that the company of their holy founder

procured them this favor from Heaven; and the miraculous nourishment

they had just received, which renovated the strength of their minds

as well as that of their bodies, by the interior consolation they

received from it, inspired them with a firm resolution never to swerve

from the poverty to which they had devoted themselves.

Pursuing their route towards Orta, they came in the plain near that

town to a church which had been deserted, and where, having offered

up their prayers, they agreed to stop, until such time as they should

learn where it was God's intention they should settle themselves. From

thence they went, daily, to the town to preach penance in the public

places; and it was with much fruit for the salvation of souls. The

people began to feel attached to them; and as they saw that on their

quest they refused everything but what was strictly necessary, they

took very many things to the church in which they had retired, and

those considered themselves fortunate who could make themselves useful

to them. They even came in crowds to see them, and to listen to the

discourses of these new men, whose actions and whose speech made them

appear as persons descended from heaven.

But Francis, who found that this concourse of people interrupted and

disturbed their spiritual exercises, determined to leave this place.

The very beauty of it decided him to do so. It was a most agreeable

spot; on one side there were meadows covered with beautiful flowers;

on the other, a thick wood, where birds carolled the livelong day;

near the church there was a fine spring, and a rivulet, whose waters

murmured pleasantly around them; the view of the whole plain, with

that of the town beyond it on the heights, was all that could be wished.

The holy man was fearful lest so delicious an abode should enervate

the minds of his disciples, that the vigor of their intellect, so

requisite for penitential reflections, should become relaxed when

surrounded by objects so pleasant to the senses; and lest that which

inspired gladsomeness should make them lose the seriousness necessary

in prayer, and deprive them of the spiritual delight which is felt

therein. Thus, as a skilful general who was the leader of the soldiers

of Jesus Christ, and only followed His intentions, he made his little

band raise their camp at the end of a fortnight, and resume their march

towards the Valley of Spoleto.

In the way they counselled together whether they should communicate

with the world, or whether they should retire into some solitary

retreat. Francis, not choosing to trust either to his own lights or

to those of his companions, had recourse with them to prayer, to

ascertain what the will of God was on this head; and he learnt by a

revelation, St. Bonaventure says, that God had sent him expressly to

gain souls which the devil was endeavoring to draw away from Jesus

Christ. He therefore resolved to dedicate himself to this holy

employment, and to live a life which should be useful to his neighbor

rather than to himself; being likewise animated thereto by the example

of Him of whom St. Paul said: "One died for all." With this view he

continued his route to the Valley of Spoleto, and brought his brethren

to the hut at Rivo Torto, near Assisi, where he had been before.

One must feel surprised that St. Francis, with all the assurances he

had of his vocation, could have doubted for a single instant that he

had been sent by God for the spiritual service of his neighbors. But

his doubts only had their rise in the powerful attractions he had for

contemplation, which the tenderness of his conscience made him fearful

of resisting, by employing himself in the exercises of an active life;

and it was this that lessened his inclination for the functions of

Apostolicity; for, according to the doctrine of the Fathers, and of

Saint Bernard in particular, there are no more worthy ministers of the

Gospel than such as devote themselves to conversation with God in

retreat, and who leave that retreat to preach the doctrines of salvation

only when they have reason to think that God calls upon them to do so.

Our Lord, who thus in his wisdom permitted that His servant should

labor under this uncertainty, revealed to him already that he was

destined to labor for the salvation of souls, and we shall see, further

on, that He assured him again by other revelations.

The hut in which these men devoted to evangelical poverty had retired,

was so small and so confined, that, far from being able to lie at full

length in it, there was barely room for them to sit, insomuch that

their Father was obliged to assign to each his place by writing his

name on the joists, in order that they might pray and take their rest

without being incommoded. They remained some time in this miserable

habitation, which might be looked upon more as a tomb for the living,

or rather for such as were dead to the world; and they bore it for the

love of God, with more fraternal charity and gaiety than can be

described. The life they led there was so laborious, and so poor, that

frequently, not having a morsel of bread, necessity compelled them to

search the country for herbs and roots, which they ate with

satisfaction; preferring to be nourished with tears rather than with

any other food.

Their most frequent exercise was prayer, and that more mental than

vocal, because they had not as yet books for saying the Divine Office.

A wooden cross, of moderate size, which Francis had fixed in the middle

of the hut, round which they prayed, served them instead of a book.

They meditated on it unceasingly, and read in it with the eyes of

faith, instructed by the example of their saintly chief, who often

discoursed to them on the Passion and Cross of Jesus Christ.

However, they wished to learn from him what vocal prayers they ought

to recite; and he told them, as our blessed Saviour had told the

Apostles: This is the prayer that you will say: "Our Father, who are

in heaven, hallowed be Thy name," etc. To which he added the Act of

Adoration which he had before taught them: "Lord Jesus Christ, we adore

Thee in all the churches in the whole world, and we bless Thee for

having redeemed the world by Thy holy Cross." He likewise taught them

to praise God in all things, to make use of all creatures, to raise

up their minds to Him, to have great respect for priests, to be

inviolably attached to the true faith, which is believed and taught

by the Holy Roman Church, and to confess it plainly. His faithful

disciples put in practice all that he taught them, and conformed to

all his maxims, which they did in still greater perfection after the

marvel which we are about to relate.

Francis being one Saturday in Assisi, in order to preach on the Sunday

morning in the cathedral, as it was his custom to do, retired to a

small shed in a garden belonging to the canons of the church, to pass

the night in contemplation, which he usually did. About midnight, a

fiery car of great brilliancy, on which there was a globe as bright

as the sun, and which gave a light equal to that of noon, entered into

the hut in which the brethren were collected, and moved round it three

times. Some of them were watching and praying; the others, who were

taking a little rest, awoke. It is not to be said how great their

astonishment was when they found themselves enlightened, as well

interiorly as exteriorly, by this penetrating light, which manifested

to them the state of their consciences.

St. Bonaventure remarks on the subject of this marvellous light, on

the testimony of those who had been witnesses of it, that they

understood well, by this luminous and burning figure, God represented

to them the lively and holy flames which illuminated their Father,

who, though absent in the body, was present with them in spirit, in

order that, as true Israelites, like unto Eliseus, they might look up

to and imitate this new Elias, whom He had appointed the light and

guide for spiritual men. Doubtless, he continues, the Lord, who opened

the eyes of the servant of Eliseus, that he might see around that

Prophet, that "the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire,"

would also, at the prayer of Francis, open those of his disciples to

shew them the marvel which was operating in their favor.

At his return from Assisi, the Father conversed with his children on

the prodigy which they had witnessed, and took occasion from it to

confirm them in their vocation. He entered in detail as to the secret

dispositions of their consciences; he foretold them many circumstances

relative to the increase of his Order; he made known to them, in fine,

so many sublime things beyond human ken, that they became perfectly

aware that the Spirit of God rested fully on him, and that their

greatest security would be in a conformity of themselves to his life

and doctrine.

People were so greatly moved and affected by his virtues and his

discourses, that many presented themselves to join his Order, but he

declined as yet to receive them, because the hut was too small for the

twelve he had; but he availed himself of the opportunity to say to

these: "My dear brethren, God, in His goodness, has made known to me

that He proposes to increase our poor family. I cannot receive those

who wish to join us, until I have a place large enough to admit all.

We require a larger habitation, as well as a church, where we may hear

mass, say the Divine Office, and deposit in peace those of our society

who may die. Let us therefore go to our lord Bishop and the canons.

Let us earnestly entreat of them, for the love of God, to cede to us

some church near the town, and to put our rising Order under cover in

some part of their domain. If they cannot assist us, we will go and

ask the same favor of the Religious of Mount Soubazo."

The Bishop of Assisi and the Canons had it not in their power to promote

such views, having no church at their disposal; but the Abbot of Mount

Soubazo, with the consent of the community, granted him for himself

and his brethren the chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, or of

Portiuncula, which he had put into repair, but he added this condition,

that, if the Institution became more extended, this church should be

always considered the place of its origin, and the chief monastery.

Francis received the present, and accepted the condition with great

thankfulness. He came and told his brethren of it, expressing the

pleasure he felt, in having, for the first church of his Order, a

church of the Blessed Virgin, very small and very poor, obtained by

begging, and in which he had first taken upon himself the Apostolic

life.

On the same day he went to St. Mary of the Angels, where a pious

ecclesiastic of Assisi was living, whose name was Peter Mazancoli, to

whom the care of that church had been intrusted after it had been

repaired. He communicated to him the cession which the Religious of

Mount Soubazo had made to his Order, and begged him to come and live

with his brethren.

As true piety, which is charity itself, is never jealous, and is

delighted in what is of advantage to its neighbors, the ecclesiastic

embraced Francis, and assured him how desirous he was to see the Blessed

Virgin honored and praised in this place, which she loved, where

concerts by the angelic host were constantly heard. As a proof of this,

he called a laborer of the vicinity, who certified to have several

times heard in the night melodious canticles, and to have seen a great

light come forth from the windows.

The experience of Francis himself was an additional proof. For, being

in prayer during the following night in order to recommend his family

to the protection of the Blessed Virgin, he saw on the altar, by means

of a splendid light, our Saviour Jesus Christ, His holy Mother, and

a multitude of angels, who cast upon him looks of great benignity. He

adored, and recited these words: "O most holy Lord, King of Heaven,

Redeemer of the world, sweet Love! and thou, O Queen of Angels! by

what excess of goodness do you come down from heaven into this small

and poor chapel?" He immediately heard this reply: "I am come with my

Mother to settle you and yours in this place, which is very dear to

us." All then disappeared, and Francis exclaimed: "Truly this place

is holy, which ought to be inhabited by angels, rather than by men.

As long as I possibly can, I will not leave it; it shall be, for me

and mine, an eternal monument of the goodness of God!" It became, in

fact, a great object of devotion and veneration for himself and his

brethren, particularly after it had been revealed to him that, among

all the temples consecrated under the name of the Blessed Virgin, this

was the one for which she had the greatest attachment.

At break of day he sent for the other religious by his companions,

with directions to bring with them the few pieces of furniture which

they had in the hut at Rivo Torto, in order to place them in the house

adjoining the church of St. Mary of the Angels, which the pious

ecclesiastic willingly gave up to them.

He communicated to the new guests the sanctity of the place they were

about to inhabit, and recommended them to live therein holily, never

ceasing to praise the Lord. Then he said to them: "You must be very

grateful to the Benedictine Fathers for the benefit they have conferred

upon us. They have consecrated all the habitations we shall hereafter

have, by this house of God, which is the model of the poverty which

must be observed in all the houses of our Order, and the precious germ

of the holiness which we must seek for in it."

But, in order to show that he did not live there as on a property

wholly his, as well as for a mark of his gratitude to his benefactors,

he took care to have taken yearly to the Abbey of Mount Soubazo, as

a ground-rent, a basket of fish, a species of mullet, which is taken

in quantities in the River Asi, or Chiascio, near the Church of St.

Mary of the Angels. The Friars Minor have always cherished the feelings

of the blessed Patriarch for the Order of St. Benedict. They will ever

manifest, with sincerest gratitude, that it is to this great order,

so ancient and so celebrated in the Church, that they are indebted for

their first establishment, and for many other benefits.