Here's what we're wondering about: who was St Francis?
This is a real story, and a life filled with legends. Francis was born to a wealthy family in Italy. His dad sold beautiful fabric. As a young man, Francis dressed in the latest fancy fashions, spent money foolishly, and behaved very irresponsibly. He only thought about himself, and good times. He only loved himself.
Then - something changed! There were lepers - people with an incurable, horrible skin disease - that begged for money and help where Francis lived. Francis couldn't bear to see them, ever. But one day, something in his heart told him to really look at these suffering people. He remembered a story about Jesus. That day, he didn't turn away from the lepers. He gave them all the money in his pockets, and - he gave one a kiss.
After that, Francis began to give away his money and possessions. No more parties, no more fancy clothes, no more showing off. He stopped thinking only about himself. It's hard to understand, but his friends and his father were very angry at this. Francis' dad, whose heart was hard, believed that when Francis gave away valuable things, this was foolishness, craziness, a bad reflection on the family. But Francis felt that poverty - owning nothing - was important. By not focusing on possessions, he could pay attention to God.
Francis' dad disagreed, completely. Finally, he had enough, and demanded that Francis stop giving everything away. He took his son to court - he wanted his money back. Can you even guess what Francis did? Francis took off all his clothes, so that now he owned nothing at all, and walked away. And that was when his life as a holy man began.
Francis heard God tell him: rebuild my church! And so he did that, literally, stone by stone. But what if God meant something bigger than that? So Francis traveled, telling everyone that we are all neighbors. He grew to love and respect nature. He preached to birds, who gathered and listened! He told a wolf to stop bothering people (and the people promised to feed that hungry wolf). Francis created the first Nativity scene, showing everyone a look at the Christmas manger, with live animals. He told everybody that nature is the mirror of God, that God lives in each of us, and God lives in our neighbors, too.
And more! The very big life of this small man is told in many books and movies, and St Francis also wrote prayers and poems and more that you can read.
I wonder what you think about Francis?
What do you like best about his life?
What could have been left out?
Where are you in this story?
