Just curious, what is St. Francis the saint of ?

Answer 1

im sure he is the patron saint of animals

Answer 2

St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals, no joke.

Answer 3

St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of ecologists and merchants. He is the founder of the Franciscan Order and was truly one with nature. He saw God in all of creation and was a lover of all of God's creatures. St. Francis is reported to have tamed a wolf who was terrorizing the town, to have preached to a host of birds perched on trees to listen to him as he spoke to them of giving glory to God for all their beautiful gifts of feathers, food, etc. St. Francis is credited with the statement "Preach always, when necessary use words" I love that saying. Means we are to be what we profess to believe.

There are many Saints Francis and Frances but I am assuming you mean St. Francis of Assisi.

Answer 4

St. Francis of Assissi was the patron saint of animals and of the downtroden.

Answer 5

St. Francis of Assisi... gave up all wealth and wordly ways... usually associated as patron of animals. He was a huge animal lover, and there is a fable in which he tames the wolf who terrorizes the city.

Answer 6

My middle name is Francis!

After the TV show--- Fancis the Talking Mule.

Ended in 1836.

Answer 7

which st. francis? lol the only one i know for sure is Assissi =)

Answer 8

Patron Saint of Animals. Why do you think his statue is in so many birdbaths? They love him.

Answer 9

Assissi.

Answer 10

St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and the environment, founded the Franciscan Order.

***

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is Hatred, let me sow Love.
Where there is Injury, Pardon.
Where there is Doubt, Faith.
Where there is Despair, Hope.
Where there is Darkness, Light, and
Where there is Sadness, Joy.

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

***

He was born in 1181 or 1182 as Francesco di Bernardone, Franciscus meaning in Italian "Little Frenchman". His mother would have preferred "Giovanni", but his father Pietro, a cloth merchant, named him Francesco in honor to France, because the commerce with that country was the origin of the family's wealth. Of his mother, Pica, little is known. Francis was one of several children.

Rebellious toward his father's business and pursuit of wealth, Francis spent most of his youth lost in books (ironically, his father's wealth did afford his son an excellent education, and he became fluent in reading several languages including Latin). He was also known for drinking and enjoying the company of his many friends, who were usually the sons of nobles. His displays of disillusionment toward the world that surrounded him became evident fairly early, one of which is shown in the story of the beggar. In this account, he found himself out having fun with his friends one day when a beggar came along and asked for alms. While his friends ignored the beggar's cries, Francis gave the man everything he had in his pockets. His friends quickly chided and mocked him for his stupidity, and when he got home, his father scolded him in a rage.

In 1201 he joined a military expedition against Perugia, was taken prisoner at Collestrana, and spent a year as a captive. It is probable that his conversion to more serious thoughts was a gradual process relating to this experience.

After his return to Assisi in 1203, Francis recommenced his carefree life. But in 1204 a serious illness started a spiritual crisis. In 1205 Francis left for Puglia to enlist in the army of Gualtiero di Brienne. But on his way, in Spoleto, a strange vision made him return to Assisi, deepening his spiritual crisis.

It is said that when he began to avoid the sports and the feasts of his former companions, and they asked him laughingly if he was thinking of marrying, he answered "Yes, a fairer bride than any of you have ever seen" - meaning his "lady poverty", as he afterward used to say.

He spent much time in lonely places, asking God for enlightenment. By degrees he took to nursing lepers, the most repulsive victims in the lazar houses near Assisi.

After a pilgrimage to Rome, where he begged at the church doors for the poor, he had a mystical experience in the Church of San Damiano just outside of Assisi, in which the Icon of Christ Crucified came alive and said to him 3 times, "Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins." He thought this to mean the very ruined church in which he was presently praying, and so sold his horse together with some cloth from his father's store, to assist the priest there for this purpose.
Renunciation of Wordly Goods, attributed to Giotto di Bondone
Enlarge
Renunciation of Wordly Goods, attributed to Giotto di Bondone

Pietro, highly indignant, attempted to bring him to his senses, first with threats and then with corporal chastisement. After a final interview in the presence of the bishop, Francis renounced his father and his patrimony, laying aside even the garments he had received from him. For the next few months he lived as a beggar in the region of Assisi.

Returning to the town where he spent two years this time, he restored several ruined churches, among them the Porziuncola, little chapel of St Mary of the Angels, just outside the town, which later became his favorite abode

Learn more on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi