Saint Francis was born at Assisi around 1881 in Umbria. He was a son of a prosperous merchant, Peter Bernadone.
Led by a deep religious experience, he abandoned a military life and the wealth of his family at the age of 28 or 29. He embraced a spirit of utter simplicity for the love of Christ and, with the approval of the Pope, led a small group of followers in a life of poverty and itinerant preaching. He also inspired Saint Clare to found a religious group, the Poor Clares. His followers soon became very numerous, and he was forced to write a Rule and to delegate the administration of the Brothers to others. He was saddened by the departure from his original simplicity necessitated by the different types of people attracted to his following. He was favored with the stigmata toward the end of his life, and he suffered also from ill health and near blindness. But his spirit of love and joy prevailed, as can be seen in the Canticle of the Sun, which he composed shortly before his death. (MTR) Music from SoundCloud. Photo from Grant Whitty
