St. Francis was born in Assisi in 1182, his father was a wealthy
merchant who was often abroad in France. He was in France when his son was born, therefore his mother baptised him as Giovanni, his father was furious because he wanted him to be named after the country of France that had been so good to him. Then Giovanni was renamed Francesco which purely means "Frenchman". From infancy to Childhood he was known as Francis. Everyone LOVED him whatever he needed he had, whatever he wanted he got. He was spoiled and greedy, much like his father. Due to his wealth he was able to party with famous and also wealthy French people. Despite all of the false attention this caused he was still good at conducting business. Even though Francis seemed to have it all, he had always wanted to be a knight and fight. So when the time came to defend the town he called home he rose to the challenge and got a suit of armour plated in gold. After most of Assisi soldiers were killed, Francis returned home, never facing battle because of his revelation he had with God, he realized he needed to change his life. He now devoted his life to God and serving others. Francis was always a lover of nature, animals and the environment. As his passion for the gospel and the Lord got stronger and stronger he started helping more people, such as poor priests and lepers. He was also known for assistance when needing to rebuild churches, most known for helping rebuild local churches like St. Damian and St. Mary of Angels. To gather money for materials he once took from his father, taking nice cloth and supplies from his father’s business. His father was furious and beat Francis up, not until his father left and his mother helped him escape back to the church to continue with the building. After this altercation Francis hardly went home. Francis built a hut in town and lived his life out helping beggars and priests who needed his assistance, until finally he moved into the mountains and began a life of solidarity. Francis lived this way hardly going into town and depending on prayer until his death in 1226. |