Francis was born to a French mother and Italian father in 1182, and his father called him Francesco – or Francis – after a trip to France. The ‘little Frenchman’ was brought up on romantic French ballads sung by traveling troubadours. The son of a wealthy merchant, Francis led a cavalier life in his youth, and was considered ‘the life of the party’ by his contemporaries.

Francis grew up with the dream that one day he would become a knight. So, in his early twenties, Francis took to the opportunity to fight for Assisi against a neighbouring town. However, his haughty military career came to an abrupt halt, when the young Francis was captured and incarcerated.

This time was to prove a turning point for Francis. For, during the year in prison and the year in convalescence following his release, Francis thought long and hard about his life. His dream of becoming a knight seemed ridiculous in the light of the harsh reality of war that had confronted him.

One day, when Francis was riding along a road, he simply stopped dead in his tracks. It was as if he could not carry on any more as he was. He dismounted, undressed, then – bit by bit – took all his knightly regalia – including his horse, and his sword and his armor – and gave it all away.

His father became exasperated with Francis, over his prodigality with the family’s property, and organised a meeting with the local bishop to pull him into line. But it backfired big time. Francis responded to his father’s com-plaints by renouncing his family, and his family’s property, altogether.

Right there and then he gave back everything his family had given him. Including the clothes that he was wearing at the time. So that Francis stood there naked as the day that he was born. Then he turned to his father and said: ‘Until now I have called you father, but from now on I can say without reserve, “Our Father who is in Heaven” – He is all my wealth – I place my confidence in Him.’

In order to consider his future, Francis decided to spend some time living as a hermit beside an old church in San Damiano. While there Francis heard a voice calling him, saying, ‘Rebuild my church.’ Francis responded to the call by repairing the ruins of the church in San Damiano, then set about the task of reforming the life of the church throughout Italy.

Francis approached the task of renewal – not as a legislator – but as a juggler! He had been brought up with troubadours coming to his house, singing romantic ballads that stirred the heart; and he aspired to be like one of the jugglers who accompanied the troubadours, drawing the crowds for the musicians, so they could listen to the music of the heart that they played. As Le Jongleur de Dieu, a ‘Juggler for God’, Francis wanted to travel from town to town, like an entertainer, without a penny to his name, introducing people to joie de vivre, the ‘true joy of living’.

Considering his views, it is quite remarkable that Francis did not rage against the pompous opulence of medieval society. Instead, ever the romantic, Francis tried to woo the people away from their preoccupation with the trappings of power, and get them to fall in love with the lovely ‘Lady Poverty’. Poverty was not an end in itself. But, as far as Francis was concerned, people needed to be willing to be able to joyfully embrace poverty in order to follow the way of Jesus and joyfully embrace the poor.

In 1210 Francis obtained approval for a simple rule dedicated to ‘apostolic poverty’. He called the order the ‘Friars Minor’. And this band of ‘Little Brothers’ followed the example of their founder in caring for the poor.

Then in 1212 Clare – a wealthy friend from Assisi; who, like Francis, had been converted, and had given all her wealth to the poor – started a sister order to the brothers, that was to become known as ‘the Poor Clares’.

Francis and Clare set about their task with such enthusiasm that people all over the place wanted to join them. And, as hundreds and thousands of people joined in from all over Europe, the humble movement of ‘Brother Sun and Sister Moon’ began to gradually engage and eventually change the Dark Age in which they lived.

Francis and Clare undermined feudalism simply by encouraging all their brothers and sisters to lay aside their weapons, unlock the gates of their castles, welcome outsiders in, and gladly share their wealth with the poor.

At this time many Christians understood ‘mission’ in terms of the ‘crusades’ – to slaughter as many Muslims as they could – ‘in the name of the Lord’. Francis not only refused to take up weapons himself, he actually traveled to Egypt where the crusaders were fighting, walking up and down the lines, begging them to lay down their swords.

When they would not listen to him, Francis crossed the lines at Damietta, and went to talk with the ‘enemy’ sultan, Mele-el-Khamil, to tell him about the ‘Prince of Peace’, and to try to broker a peace deal ‘in His name’.

While Francis was overseas disputes arose among the Friars. A Vicar-General was appointed to take control of the order, and a revised set of organizational rules were instituted, which were to change the character of the movement quite considerably.

Holding on to his original calling Francis withdrew from leadership and retired to a hermitage on Monte Alvernia – where the man we know as St. Francis died in1226.

The political philosopher, John Ralston Saul, says ‘Francis of Assisi (and his followers) were the most famous activists (of their day). To a great extent they laid out the modern democratic model of inclusion – an important step towards egalitarianism. (They) took the elements of personal responsibility, set out tantalisingly in the New Testament, and imagined a social model which …would change our societies.’[i]

Dave Andrews p130-2 The Jihad Of Jesus http://bit.ly/1CedNDX

[i] John Ralston Saul The Unconscious Civilization Simon & Schuster New York 1995 p136-7