Books with title Saint Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential figures in Christian history.Born in central Italy in the late twelfth century his spent his early life as a medieval night, dreaming of military glory.Yet, military failure and subsequent illness, forced Francis to reassess his life and during his convalescence in Assisi he heard Christ speak to him.Little more encouragement was needed for Francis to renounce all his worldly wealth and possessions and devote himself to God.Within a few years he had built up a small following of ascetic monks who wandered through Italy preaching the word of God, and in due course this group gained the Church’s approval to become the Order of Franciscans.The influence and legacy of St. Francis has not diminished in the subsequent centuries, even to the extent that current pope views him as such a role model that he chose his papal name to be Pope Francis when he ascended the Chair of Saint Peter.Chesterton’s account of life of St. Francis begins with a history of what Italy was like during his life, then uncovers his early life as a military man, before discussing in detail his spiritual awakening and his emergence as a religious figure.G. K. Chesterton’s remarkable biography of this fascinating man is often considered one of the greatest biographies of St. Francis. G. K. Chesterton was an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, lay theologian, biographer, and literary and art critic. His book St. Francis of Assisi was first published in 1923 and he passed away in 1936.

While growing up in Irish Catholic Boston in the 1960's, the Malone children struggle to evade the overwhelming threats in their neighborhood. They are encouraged when Saint Francis arrives from a faraway place, inserting himself into their family, and beginning the process of routing the community of the priests and other abusers; while re-establishing a sense of hope, spirituality, and Christianity.

Chesterton was an orthodox religious person, eventually converting to Roman Catholicism. In 1923, he wrote this short biography of St. Francis of Assisi, after whom Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose his papal name, Pope Francis, when he was elected as the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, on 13 March 2013. The biography of St. Francis may help one understand why the Pope chose St. Francis as his namesake. Chesterton begins:"A sketch of St. Francis of Assisi in modern English may be written in one of three ways. Between these the writer must make his selection; ... First, he may deal with this great and most amazing man as a figure in secular history and a model of social virtues. ... Second, he may go to the opposite extreme, and decide, as it were, to be defiantly devotional. ... Third, he may try to do what I have tried to do here; ... I am here addressing the ordinary common man, sympathetic but sceptical, and I can only rather hazily hope that, by approaching the great saint's story through what is evidently picturesque and popular about it, I may at least leave the reader understanding a little more than he did before of the consistency of a complete character; ....""Here is an historical character which is admittedly attractive to many of us already, by its gaiety, its romantic imagination, its spiritual courtesy and cameraderie, but which also contains elements (evidently equally sincere and emphatic) which seem to you quite remote and repulsive. But after all, this man was a man and not half a dozen men. What seems inconsistency to you did not seem inconsistency to him. Let us see whether we can understand, with the help of the existing understanding, these other things that now seem to be doubly dark, by their intrinsic gloom and their ironic contrast."

While growing up in Irish Catholic Boston in the 1960's, the Malone children struggle to evade the overwhelming threats in their neighborhood. They are encouraged when Saint Francis arrives from a faraway place, inserting himself into their family, and beginning the process of routing the community of the priests and other abusers; while re-establishing a sense of hope, spirituality, and Christianity.

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Chesterton was an orthodox religious person, eventually converting to Roman Catholicism. In 1923, he wrote this short biography of St. Francis of Assisi, after whom Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose his papal name, Pope Francis, when he was elected as the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, on 13 March 2013. The biography of St. Francis may help one understand why the Pope chose St. Francis as his namesake. Chesterton begins: "A sketch of St. Francis of Assisi in modern English may be written in one of three ways. Between these the writer must make his selection; ... First, he may deal with this great and most amazing man as a figure in secular history and a model of social virtues. ... Second, he may go to the opposite extreme, and decide, as it were, to be defiantly devotional. ... Third, he may try to do what I have tried to do here; ... I am here addressing the ordinary common man, sympathetic but sceptical, and I can only rather hazily hope that, by approaching the great saint's story through what is evidently picturesque and popular about it, I may at least leave the reader understanding a little more than he did before of the consistency of a complete character; ...." "Here is an historical character which is admittedly attractive to many of us already, by its gaiety, its romantic imagination, its spiritual courtesy and cameraderie, but which also contains elements (evidently equally sincere and emphatic) which seem to you quite remote and repulsive. But after all, this man was a man and not half a dozen men. What seems inconsistency to you did not seem inconsistency to him. Let us see whether we can understand, with the help of the existing understanding, these other things that now seem to be doubly dark, by their intrinsic gloom and their ironic contrast."