Francis of Assisi

Life

Francis of Assisi (Italian: Francesco d'Assisi) was born in Assisi in central Italy, the son of a wealthy cloth merchant. In Korea, the Catholic Church calls him Seong Peuranchiseuko ("Saint Francesco"), while Protestants commonly call him Seong Peuraenshiseu ("Saint Francis"). According to tradition, as a young man he went to war against the neighboring city of Perugia and was taken prisoner; after his release, a period of illness led him to change the course of his life. A well-known story relates that in the dilapidated Church of San Damiano he heard a voice saying, "Repair my house." After a conflict with his father, he renounced his inheritance before the bishop of Assisi, and thereafter he lived in poverty, caring for lepers and restoring churches. He died on October 3, 1226, and was canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1228.

Ministry and Work

• Founding of the Order of Friars Minor: Following Jesus' instruction to his disciples to travel without money or a change of clothing (Matthew 10:9–10), Francis began a life without possessions, devoted to itinerant preaching. As followers gathered around him, he received oral approval from Pope Innocent III around 1209, and in 1223 Pope Honorius III formally approved the order's Rule. He is believed never to have been ordained a priest.
• Related communities: Under his influence there arose a community of women religious led by Clare of Assisi (the Poor Clares), as well as a secular order for lay believers with families.
• Visit to the sultan: In 1219, during the Fifth Crusade, he traveled to Egypt and met Sultan al-Kamil in an attempt to proclaim the gospel to him.
• Christmas at Greccio: At Christmas in 1223, at Greccio, he held a service reenacting the Nativity of Jesus with a manger, an ox, and a donkey. This event is widely regarded as the origin of today's Christmas crèche displays.
• Canticle of the Creatures: He composed a song praising God in which he addressed the sun, moon, wind, and water as "brother" and "sister." It is commonly known as the "Canticle of the Sun."

Influence on the Korean Church

• The Protestant hymn known in Korean as "On cheonha manmul ureoreo" is a Korean translation of an English hymn ("All Creatures of Our God and King") based on the Canticle of the Creatures.
• The "Prayer of Saint Francis," which begins "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace," is traditionally attributed to him and is widely used across denominations. However, the prayer first appeared in France in the early twentieth century, and the general scholarly view is that he did not write it himself.
• In 1979 Pope John Paul II proclaimed him the patron saint of ecology. As a result, he is frequently cited in Protestant discussions of the Season of Creation and of creation care.

Assessment

The Catholic Church venerates him as one of its most widely beloved saints. Within Protestantism, some respect him as an example of one who, before the Reformation, put the gospel into practice through poverty, humility, and service. By contrast, some Protestant theologians, including those in the Reformed tradition, point out that his faith was situated within the medieval Catholic religious system, including monasticism, the veneration of saints, and the tradition that he received the wounds of Christ (the stigmata) in his body; they therefore hold that caution is warranted before adopting him uncritically as a model of faith. Historians note that most of his biographies are hagiographies written after his death, so the picture of him known today contains elements that were added and idealized by later generations.