St Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi was born sometime between December 1181 and September 1182 in Assisi, an independent Ghibelline commune in the center of Umbria region of Italy. Some biographers have put his date of birth to September 26, 1182. He was one among his parents’ seven children.

His father, Pietro di Bernardone, was a prosperous silk merchant, who also owned farmland around Assisi. It is said that he loved everything French and was proficient in French language.

His mother, Pica de Bourlemont, came from an aristocrat family from Provence. Not much is known about her except that she was very beautiful. She must have also been very religious for when St Francis was born she had him baptized as Giovanni di Bernardore, after John the Baptist.

At that time, his father was away on business trip to France. When he came home, he was not pleased with such a marked association with a man of God and therefore changed his son’s name to Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone; Francesco literally means Frenchman.

Francesco had elementary education at a school associated with the Church of San Giorgio in Assisi. Here, in addition to mathematics, music and poetry, he learned to read and write Latin. From his father, he learned French.

His chance came when in November 1202 war broke out between Assisi and its long-time enemy Perugia. Twenty year old Francis joined the cavalry and went off to fight; but untrained and inexperienced, he was taken a prisoner.

Seeing his expensive dress and new armor, the Perugia soldiers decided to demand ransom for his release. He was therefore thrown into a dank and unhealthy prison at Collestrada, where he remained imprisoned for almost a year, waiting for his father to pay the ransom.

It was during this period that Francis is believed to have his first vision, although nothing is known about it. Living in the damp and cold atmosphere, he was also afflicted with disease. Therefore, by the time the negotiation for the ransom was complete, Francis was a changed man,

In 1203, Francis returned to Assisi, battle-scarred and sick. Once recovered, he started leading his old life; but it soon became apparent that his heart was no longer in that. The change became more pronounced when one day he met a leper.

In his earlier days, Francis would have surely left the place in hurry. This time, although he was repulsed at first, he controlled himself and disembarked from his horse to embrace and kiss him. He later said that as he did that, he experienced a feeling of sweetness in his mouth.

According to some scholars, he saw the leper as a symbol of moral conscience while others believe he saw him as Jesus incognito. Whatever it was, after this, his lifestyle underwent a complete change and he felt free.

In late 1205, he tried to join the papal forces under Count Gentile against the emperor Frederick II in Apulia. This time too he was dressed in best; his armor was decorated with gold and the cloak was made out of best silk. But, he never reached the battlefield.

Just a day after he started his journey, he had a vision. In it, God bade him to return to Assisi and wait for His call. Abiding the divine order, Francis returned to Assisi, braving taunt and humiliation as well as his father’s wrath for wasting money on the armor.