Francis Of Assissi
Uploaded by colakid on Oct 30, 2004
A great man was born in the small Italian city of Assisi in the year 1182. This man is Francesco Bernardone or Francis of Assisi. Francis came from a wealthy family where his father was in the textile business. He sold cloth and marketed it on the street. His father was in the south of France when he was born and on his trip home thought of the name Francesco or “the Frenchman.” The Crusades were going at time of his birth so he had strong influences to become a knight in shining armor. His parent’s names were Giovanna but they called her Pica and Pietro was his father’s name. Growing up he was sent to Saint George’s a school right next to the town walls but rather far from home. He learned a lot from this school but seemed to show an interest in an old canon named Guido who told him the story of Saint George and the Dragon. This was the story that gave Francis his drive to become a famous knight. In his down time as a kid he would help out his dad selling woolen cloth at the local markets. His parents spoiled him and spent enormous amounts of money on their son. He liked to wear very bright clothes so that he would stand out.
When he turned twenty a war broke out between the cities of Assisi and Perugia. He joined so that he could fight in it he was captured and imprisoned for a year. He was freed when his father paid a hefty ransom to get his son out. When he returned to Assisi he became very ill and had to remain in a bed for several months. After coming out of his illness he began to work in the fields around Assisi and started to pray a great deal. He even gave some of his money to lepers, who he started visiting on a daily basis. Francis started going to a little broke down church called San Damiano. He asked the lord, “ What do u want of me.” The crucifix said, “ Francis repair my church, it is falling down.” This marked the point in Francis’ life where everything had changed and he realized that he had to live a more spiritual life. Francis had stole some clothe from his father and a horse and sold it in...