St. Francis of Assisi – Founder of the Franciscan Order

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org

St. Francis of Assisi was born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, in Umbria, Italy in 1181 to a wealthy cloth merchant and his wife. One day as he prayed in the Church of St. Damian, near Assisi, for guidance and direction in his life, Francis heard the voice of the Lord telling him to, "Go and repair my house, which you see is falling down." He understood this to mean the physical building in which he knelt. Later he came to realize that the brokenness he was called to repair was the Holy Church itself. Francis encouraged people to turn away from materialism and sin. He trusted God to provide the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. He founded the mendicant Franciscan religious order in 1209.

Francis died on October 3, 1226 and was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on July 16, 1228. His feast day is celebrated on October 4.