St. Francis of Assisi

In the Italy of the Municipalities a great man was born, who spoke of peace when everyone spoke of struggles and blood, and who loved poverty at a time when everyone was trying to enrich: St. Francis of Assisi.

Francis broke away from the Benedictine rule and founded one of the two great mendicant orders, the Franciscan one. The other, the Dominican, was founded by St. Dominic Guzman to combat heresy, especially the Cathar one. These two orders were responsible for the two greatest religious intellectuals of the time — but everything in those centuries was steeped in religion and faith: the Dominican Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Franciscan Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio.

Francis loved the beautiful works of God and nature: water, fire, moon, stars, wind, clouds, sky, earth and grass. Above all, he also loved animals, which he considered brothers, in a not completely anthropocentric sense. The legend linked to the wolf that terrorized the city of Gubbio is famous. It is said that Francis managed to tame it with sweetness and words.

And then the said wolf lived two years in Agobbio; and he went in at home through the houses from door to door, without hurting the person and without being hurt; and he was kindly fed by the people; and as he went about the land and the houses, never a dog barked after him. (Fioretti, chap. XXI).