St Peter’s Anglican Church

St Francis of Assisi - October 4

Friar & Patron Saint of Animals

Francis was born in 1181, the son of a successful cloth merchant of Assisi. Although christened John, he is always known as Francis (the Frenchman) because his mother was from Provence. As a young man, Francis took an active part in the social life of the city. He also saw service in a petty war with nearby Perugia. This led to a spell as a prisoner of war. On his release he turned his back on warfare. He continued to be involved in the social life of Assisi; but now a strain of seriousness became more and more apparent.

As Francis was feeling his way towards his new vocation, he knelt before a Byzantine-style crucifix in the half-ruined Church of San Damiano and prayed. The crucifix seemed to speak to him, “Francis, go and rebuild my church, which you see is in ruins.” With typical compulsiveness he sold some goods belonging to his father to pay for repairs, and went to live with the priest of San Damiano. A long and bitter altercation with his father culminated in the famous scene before the bishop of Assisi. Francis renounced his earthly father and all his wealth, even to the clothes he was then wearing. Dressed in a grey-brown peasant’s smock that the bishop gave him and with a piece of rope for a belt, Francis began a life of poverty, preaching the love of Christ. Read more...