Frequently Asked Questions

What is so great about Francis of Assisi?

In many ways, nothing much at all. He came from a forgettable village in central Italy, did not do anything spectacular and wrote very little. But for centuries, many Christians have called him the most perfect disciple of Jesus Christ to ever live. It is the fact that he is so simple and ordinary that draws thousands of followers. Many say they like the fact that he is free from hang ups and only sought for people to have peace, be happy and to realise that they and all creation must live in harmony.

Wasn't he on about just looking after animals?

Certainly Francis had a special gift with animals; he believed that they, along with everything that was created including the sun, moon, stars and wind along with humans was in one big fellowship of creation. But although today he is best known for that, there is a lot more to Francis. He was a man of peace who stopped civil conflicts and even travelled to the Middle East to stop Crusades. He was a man of concern for the very poor who worked with lepers and who named his brotherhood the "lesser brothers." Above all he was a man of the Gospel, who tried to live it as faithfully as he could. Many would say he did it best of all Christians.

What is so relevant about Francis today?

Francis felt passionate about the greed of some that trapped so many others in poverty. He was opposed to the callousness with which some people treated creation when he saw that in fact all of Creation is our brother and sister. He strove to end conflict and bring peace to all peoples. He strove to remember and help those whom society wanted to forget, the ill, the poor, the foreigner and those who were "different." These are issues that our society still needs to address today.

Where can I find out more?

Many books are written about Francis every year; you should have no trouble finding something at your nearest library. There were biographies written about Francis by those who knew him or were contemporaneous. Some good modern books are "God's Fool" by Julian Green and "The Journey and the Dream" by Murray Bodo.