Today, listening to a homily in the chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, in Portunicula, a young man named Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone was inspired to devote himself to a life of poverty. He was to become known in history as Francis of Assisi. Born into a wealthy family of a prosperous silk merchant, this was a radical step, and wasn’t out of the blue. Previously, he had been selling cloth and velvet in the marketplace on behalf of his father when a beggar came to him and asked for alms. At the conclusion of his business deals, he ran after the beggar to give him everything he had in his pockets. His friends quickly chided and mocked him for his act of charity. When he got home, his father scolded him in rage. Before todays turning point, he had already had a rich life, having been a soldier, being kept a military prisoner for a year, undergone a serious illness. His conflict with his father had continued when he returned home, in order to avoid his father's wrath, he hid in a cave near San Damiano for about a month. When he returned to town, hungry and dirty, he was dragged home by his father, beaten, bound, and locked in a small storeroom. After his mother freed him he returned at once to San Damiano, where he found shelter with the officiating priest, but faced legal actions from his father who wanted to force his son to forego his inheritance. In the midst of legal proceedings before the Bishop of Assisi, Francis renounced his father and his patrimony. Some accounts report that he stripped himself naked in token of this renunciation, and the Bishop covered him with his own cloak.
It’s in this context that young man made today a radical commitment to a life or poverty. Having obtained a coarse woollen tunic, the dress then worn by the poorest Umbrian peasants, he tied it around himself with a knotted rope and went forth at once exhorting the people of the countryside to penance, brotherly love, and peace. This charismatic radical drew others to him and within a year Francis had eleven followers. The brothers lived a simple life in a deserted house and he composed a simple rule for his followers ("friars"), "To follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in his footsteps", which came from verses in the Bible. They went to Rome to seek permission from Pope Innocent III to found a new religious Order who told them that when God increased the group in grace and number, they could return for an official admittance. Meanwhile, to avoid accusations of heresy and a sign they recognised the authority of the Church the group was tonsured.
The founding of the Franciscans, is an interesting case study for institutional renewal and reform. In the centre, a number of the Pope's counsellors considered the mode of life proposed by Francis as unsafe and impractical. However, the Pope had a dream in which he saw Francis holding up the Basilica of St. John Lateran (the cathedral of Rome, thus the 'home church' of all Christendom), he decided to endorse Francis's Order. The Order was centred in Umbria, before expanding throughout Italy and then the world. Francis chose never to be ordained a priest, although he was later ordained a deacon. As the order grew beyond his expectations, Francis had to write a more detailed rule and found that governance of the growing order started to be beyond his capabilities, something which modern management theory refers to as ‘Founders syndrome’. Francis handed over the governance of the Order to Brother Peter Catani but he died only five months later. In a curious sidenote on Franciscan history, when numerous miracles were attributed to the deceased brother, people started to flock to Umbria, disturbing the daily life of the Franciscans. It is said that Francis then prayed, asking Peter to stop the miracles and to obey in death as he had obeyed during his life. The reports of miracles ceased. Brother Peter was succeeded by Brother Elias as Vicar of Francis. Once Francis’ new rule had been accepted by the pope he withdrew more and more from external affairs. In this final part of his life, more intensely focused on prayer, the strange phenomenon of stigmata started to be reported.
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