I have been thinking about St. Francis of Assisi a lot lately.
Ever since Pope Leo XIV announced that the Catholic Church would honor the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death with a special Jubilee Year, I have been thinking about what I can learn from this thirteenth century merchant-turned-beggar.
Everyone seems to have a mental image of Francis, disparate and paradoxical as they are. For some, he’s the environmental warrior preaching to the birds. For others, he is the peaceful hippie attempting to normalize Christian-Muslim relations. Others still see him as a Robin Hood-esque ex-merchant redistributing his family’s wealth.
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