Francis of Assisi

Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone (c. 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italian <a href="/facts/Mysticism/3Rfb7zEd">mystic</a>, poet and <a href="/facts/Friar/NA6kEJb6">Catholic friar</a> who founded the religious order of the <a href="/facts/Franciscans/gwohhd4C">Franciscans</a>. Inspired to lead a <a href="/facts/Christianity/nKyJHlqq">Christian</a> life of poverty, he became a <a href="/facts/Mendicant/tbo65hTK">beggar</a> and an <a href="/facts/Itinerant_preacher/sJxVuqNQ">itinerant preacher</a>.
One of the most venerated figures in Christianity, Francis was <a href="/facts/Canonized/TJCQys00">canonized</a> by <a href="/facts/Pope_Gregory_IX/VP6eFzzS">Pope Gregory IX</a> on 16 July 1228. He is commonly portrayed wearing a brown <a href="/facts/Religious_habit/rm1qb45V">habit</a> with a rope tied around his waist, featuring three knots symbolizing the <a href="/facts/Evangelical_counsels/M2Ieuz2g">evangelical counsels</a> of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
In 1219, Francis went to Egypt in an attempt to convert the sultan <a href="/facts/Al-Kamil/s26Xdm5K">Al-Kamil</a> and put an end to the conflict of the <a href="/facts/Fifth_Crusade/Fh9ATG0m">Fifth Crusade</a>. In 1223, he arranged for the first live <a href="/facts/Nativity_scene/gQuKMhox">nativity scene</a> as part of the annual <a href="/facts/Christmas/EsuI0Gds">Christmas</a> celebration in <a href="/facts/Greccio/az7VYamN">Greccio</a>. According to Christian tradition, Francis received the <a href="/facts/Stigmata/ma5WAJTT">stigmata</a> during the <a href="/facts/Vision_(spirituality)/zKd4jmwe">apparition</a> of a <a href="/facts/Seraph/2CY1R6d7">Seraphic</a> angel in a <a href="/facts/Religious_ecstasy/cgcJ0qjh">religious ecstasy</a> in 1224.
Francis is associated with patronage of animals and the <a href="/facts/Natural_environment/NzGY148M">environment</a>. It became customary for churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his <a href="/facts/Feast_day/HIapcqYk">feast day</a> of 4 October, which became <a href="/facts/World_Animal_Day/eJg7wJjl">World Animal Day</a>. Francis was noted for his devotion to the <a href="/facts/Eucharist/us3hB9zL">Eucharist</a>. Along with <a href="/facts/Catherine_of_Siena/pQCVUulN">Catherine of Siena</a>, Francis was designated <a href="/facts/Patron_saint/Gw1cv1vH">patron saint</a> of Italy. He is also the namesake of the city of <a href="/facts/San_Francisco/cb9l7hbC">San Francisco</a>.
<a href="/facts/September_17/1rhf5uML">17 September</a> is the feast of Francis' stigmatization.

Francis of Assisi open-in-new

Francis of Assisi