St Francis of Assisi....the man

I have such respect for St Francis although I am not Catholic and do not belong to any recognised religion. I am a simple spiritual man who lives to help others with their emotional and spiritual lives.

Once Francis had been converted to the Christian faith he gave away his worldly life and lived in abject poverty for the rest of his life. He only lived to follow in the footsteps of Christ. His love of animals and nature and people are known and respected worldwide. Francis won over the Popes he dealt with although I believe many of the cardinals found him quite a threat.

He quickly became well-known in Italy, Europe and other parts of the world. His fame spread before there was media coverage or even books and written material. His courage to hold to what he believed in gives us all inspiration and courage. The stories of his courage and fortitude are recorded by many writers at the time and ever since.

GK Chesterton writing last century said that he converted to catholicism because any religion that had so great a man as St Francis working for it must be worth joining. Millions of tourist pilgrims pour into Assisi every year and his popularity seems to grow all the time. It seems inconceivable that this 'Little man' can have created such a stir in the world for these last 800 years.

It is believed that his simple prayer.......

'Lord make me an instrument of thy peace'

...was the first Italian poem. We know, for certain, he invented a Christmas Crib for a family he was staying with. We are still decorating our homes and churches with these simple displays now. Know about the miracles and the man. A small man with a moving and monstrous faith. I am moved and thrilled to be able to talk about him.