{"id":41650,"date":"2026-02-02T07:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=41650"},"modified":"2026-02-02T23:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T07:08:14","slug":"800-years-after-his-death-the-legends-and-legacy-of-francis-of-assisi-endure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/800-years-after-his-death-the-legends-and-legacy-of-francis-of-assisi-endure\/","title":{"rendered":"800 years after his death, the legends and legacy of Francis of Assisi endure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vanessa Corcoran<\/a>, Georgetown University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order, his body will be displayed<\/a> for the first time ever in February 2026, at the Basilica of San Francesco. Millions of visitors are expected to converge in the small Tuscan town of Assisi to honor the 13th-century saint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francis, who died on Oct. 4, 1226, espoused care for the poor and reverence for the natural world. Those values were reflected centuries later in the actions of Pope Francis. The late pope chose his papal name<\/a> in honor of the medieval saint\u2019s embrace of the poor and his teachings on the moral responsibility of caring for all creatures on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a scholar of medieval religious history<\/a>, I\u2019m aware that several dramatic episodes near the end of Francis\u2019s life played a decisive role in shaping his legacy as the founder of the Franciscan order. These events also explain why his radical messages around poverty and the environment still resonate today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born rich, yet sought a life of poverty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Born into a merchant family in the Umbrian town of Assisi, in present-day Italy, around 1181, Francis famously renounced his family\u2019s wealth. One narrative recounts how he shed his garments in the public square<\/a>, much to the embarrassment of his father. Early biographers described him as \u201cIl Poverello,\u201d or \u201cThe Little Poor One.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1209, he founded the mendicant Franciscan order, a religious group devoted<\/a> to works of charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What historians and theologians know about Francis comes primarily from his own writings and hagiographic texts. Hagiography is a form of religious biography that celebrates the virtuous lives of saints, often recounting miracles attributed to them, both in their lifetime and after their death. Devotees often visit their tombs to seek a miraculous intervention. Some of the hagiographies of Francis were written shortly after his death in 1226.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas of Celano, a Franciscan friar who knew Francis personally, wrote \u201cThe Life of Francis,\u201d published just two years after his passing. This hagiography played a central role<\/a> in his rapid canonization. It provided a detailed account of Francis\u2019 life, and Pope Gregory IX relied on its evidence that Francis\u2019 deeds merited sainthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirteenth-century theologian and philosopher St. Bonaventure wrote the \u201cLife of St. Francis<\/a>,\u201d now regarded as the most comprehensive account of Francis\u2019 life. This second religious biography captures not just the key events of Francis\u2019 life, but it also articulates his enduring legacy as the founder of the Franciscans. There are currently about 650,000 Franciscans worldwide. Members of the Franciscan order are active in over 100 countries worldwide<\/a>, focusing on issues of poverty, mission and education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both narratives describe key moments from Francis\u2019 early years: After taking a vow of poverty, Francis begged for alms and also worked in leper colonies near Assisi. During this period, he founded the Franciscan order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1210, he traveled to Rome and received papal approval<\/a> for the order from Pope Innocent III.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1219, Francis traveled to Egypt to meet with Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil during the Fifth Crusade. He initially attempted to convert al-Kamil to Christianity<\/a> through his preaching. According to Christian texts, the meeting ultimately led to safer conditions for prisoners of war during the Crusades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miracles and legends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The end of Francis\u2019 life was believed to be marked by spiritual encounters that many Catholics interpret as signs of his holiness<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recounted in great detail in the 13th-century hagiographies, these stories explain why he later became closely associated with animals and protection of the natural world. These encounters have also been replicated numerous times in artistic renderings<\/a> of Francis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an itinerant preacher, Francis regularly traveled throughout Italy to spread the Gospel. But on one occasion, Francis paused to preach to a flock of birds. According to legend<\/a>, they listened in rapt attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas of Celano notes<\/a> that from that day on, Francis\u2019 sermons were not just intended for people but for \u201call birds, all animals, all reptiles, and also insensible creatures, to praise and love the creator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea that animals became transfixed by Francis\u2019 preaching was reiterated in other devotional texts. In the 14th-century account \u201cThe Little Flowers of St. Francis<\/a>,\u201d there is another legendary story that Francis\u2019 preaching reportedly stopped a wolf from terrorizing the Tuscan town of Gubbio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francis spoke to the wolf and extended his arm. According to the legend, the wolf then stretched out his paw as if to shake his hand. Such stories became central<\/a> to shaping Francis\u2019 identity as the patron saint of animals and, later, of the natural world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1224, a severe illness left Francis nearly blind. Unable to write, he dictated the \u201cCanticle of the Sun<\/a>,\u201d or \u201cCanticle of the Creatures,\u201d often considered the first major work in Italian vernacular literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite his failing eyesight, this devotional text reflects poetically on the beauty of God\u2019s creations, referring to animals as \u201cbrothers and sisters.\u201d It praises how the Earth \u201csustains us and governs and \u2026 produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A fresco by Pietro Lorenzetti shows St. Francis receiving the stigmata. Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi, Italy. dmitriymoroz\/iStock\/Getty Images Plus<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Notably, Francis became the first person believed to receive the stigmata \u2013 wounds believed to mirror those of Christ\u2019s crucifixion. Eyewitness accounts of Sept. 17, 1224, later recorded by Thomas of Celano, noted<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA little before his death, our brother and father (Francis) appeared as if crucified, bearing in his body the five wounds which are truly the stigmata of Christ. In fact, his hands and feet had something like perforations made by the nails, front and back, that retained scars and showed the blackness of the nails. And to his side, he seemed to be pierced and blood often flowed out.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Italian Renaissance artist Giotto di Bondone depicted these scenes in an elaborate fresco cycle<\/a> in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. These wounds furthered the idea of Francis as Christ-like: a motif explored often in devotional writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Influence on the modern-day papacy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Though Francis of Assisi was already recognized as a formative historical figure, he received renewed global attention on March 13, 2013, when then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio broke with the church tradition of taking a name in honor of a papal predecessor. He took the name Francis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The choice was deliberate, given that Francis of Assisi\u2019s mission was tied to living a life of poverty and caring for others. Soon after his election to the papacy, Francis expounded on his reasoning of his papal name, affirming that his namesake was \u201cthe man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Basilica di San Francesco in Assisi. Rosmarie Wirz\/Moment Open\/Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cCanticle of the Sun\u201d later shaped the pope\u2019s signature 2015 encyclical, \u201cLaudato Si\u2019\u201d \u2013 \u201cCare for Our Common Home.\u201d The first papal encyclical devoted to the environment, the document called for global dialogue and action to protect the planet. In it, Pope Francis wrote that Francis of Assisi \u201cshows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace<\/a>.\u201d Since the death of the pope, \u201cLaudato Si<\/a>\u201d has been hailed as one of the lasting contributions of the first Jesuit and Latin American-born pope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As pilgrims travel to Assisi during this special Jubilee year<\/a> of St. Francis, the church has emphasized it is not just about seeing the remains of the medieval visionary but to remember this \u201cmodel of holiness of life and a constant witness of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although this medieval saint, most commonly known through frescoes and fragmented texts, may seem like a distant historical figure, Francis\u2019 teachings on care for the poor and responsibility toward the environment offer a lasting message to the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vanessa Corcoran<\/a>, Adjunct Professor of History, Georgetown University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vanessa Corcoran, Georgetown University On the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order, his body will be displayed for the first time ever in February 2026, at the Basilica of San Francesco. Millions of visitors are expected to converge in the small Tuscan town of Assisi to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":41651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[293,8025,7,10,2450,15533],"tags":[175,144,2477,885,891,886,860,2526,1979,803,6610],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41650"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41650"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41652,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41650\/revisions\/41652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}