Italy · 800th anniversary of the death of San Francesco d'Assisi

Francis was born in Assisi around 1181 or 1182 as Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone. His father was a wealthy cloth merchant. After a youth initially oriented towards the urban bourgeoisie and the ideal of knighthood, Francis turned to a religious life. He publicly renounced his family’s possessions, cared for lepers and travelled through central Italy as an itinerant preacher. His way of life combined poverty, physical labour, preaching and care for people on the margins of society.

This way of life emerged at a time when growing cities, trade and the money economy were changing Europe’s social conditions. Alongside church-recognised communities, various religious lay movements appeared. Francis sought the Pope’s approval for his community and thus remained within the Roman Church. A binding rule of the order was confirmed in 1223 by Pope Honorius III. Clare of Assisi also joined his way of life; the Poor Clares emerged from her community. Forms of a Franciscan-influenced way of life also developed for laypeople.

During the Fifth Crusade, Francis travelled to Egypt, where he met Sultan al-Kamil. The encounter is frequently mentioned today in connection with peaceful religious contact, even though medieval accounts place different emphases on it. Francis also left the “Canticle of the Sun” (“Sonnengesang”), written in the Umbrian vernacular. In it, the sun, moon, water, fire and earth appear as parts of a shared creation.

Pope Gregory IX (Gregor IX.) canonised Francis in 1228. The Basilica San Francesco was built over his tomb in Assisi; its frescoes are also a major testament to medieval art. The feast day on 4 October is observed in the Catholic Church; Francis is also regarded as the patron saint of environmental protection. The round anniversary therefore provides an occasion to remember a person whose influence extends beyond the history of religious orders and theology to literature, art, social practice and contemporary ideas about the relationship between humans and nature.