to them: "Take this to our dear Brother Morique. The power of Jesus
Christ will not only restore him to perfect health, but will cause him
to become a generous soldier, who will enter into our militia, and
will persevere in it." The sick man had hardly swallowed the remedy
when he was quite cured, and he soon after entered the Institute of
his charitable physician, in which he lived in prodigious austerity
during a long life, and enjoyed perfect health.

A sixth disciple, called John, and surnamed De Capella, began well,
but finished ill. He was employed to distribute to his brethren what
was given to them in alms, and he took willingly the trouble of
procuring for them what was wanted. But by little and little he got
attached to temporal things, went too much abroad, and was very much
relaxed from the regular discipline. The holy founder having frequently
reprimanded him severely, and without effect, he threatened him for
his contumacy with a severe illness and a miserable death. In fact,
this unworthy religious was stricken with a horrible leprosy, which
he had not patience to endure. He forsook the poor of Jesus Christ,
his companions, and, letting himself fall into despair, he hanged
himself, as Judas had done.

St. Antonius remarks that the life of St. Francis was in conformity
with that of Jesus Christ, even in the circumstance of having had an
unworthy disciple. He only became such by his depraved will; but God
in His wisdom made him serve as an example to show that we may be lost
even in the most holy states of life if we cease to labor with fear
and trembling for our salvation. Peter Rodulphus, Bishop of Sinigaglia,
in the Duchy of Urbino, adds, that the loss of one of the first children
of St. Francis, and still more that of Judas in the Apostolic College,
should induce those who are inclined to think ill and contemptibly of
a whole order, on account of the ill-behavior of some individual, to
reform their method of forming their opinions.

Among the instructions which Francis gave to his disciples, he laid
great stress on poverty, the practice of which might appear to them
to be very severe. In order to render them wise herein by experience,
and to make them feel that their subsistence depended on the charity
of the faithful, he took them all into Assisi, and made them beg from
door to door. This voluntary mendicity, which seemed new, and which
had hardly been seen till then, drew down upon them derision, contempt,
rebuffs, and angry words. In one place they were treated as sluggards
and idlers, and turned away with curses; in another they were told
they were fools to have given up their own property to go begging from
other people. The parents and relatives of those who were thus begging,
asserted that their families were dishonored by these practices, and
made loud complaints. There were, however, some who respected their
poverty, and aided them with good will. Such was the feeling of the
public of those times in regard to evangelical poverty, which differs
but little from what it is in our own days.

After this quest, Francis went to report to the Bishop of Assisi the
proceedings of his new soldiers. This worthy prelate, who greatly
valued him, and gave him his support on all occasions, could not help
telling him then, that he thought the sort of life he had chosen, in
which they gave up all possessions whatsoever, hard and grievous. "As
to me," replied the holy man, "I find it still harder and more grievous
to possess anything; for one cannot take care of what one possesses
without much solicitude and embarrassment. It gives rise to lawsuits,
which must be undertaken; sometimes people are obliged to take up arms
to protect it; and all this extinguishes the love of God and of our
neighbor." The bishop approved of his remarks, and once more promised
him his protection. It is true that the state of voluntary poverty in
which a person possesses nothing whatever, has its inconveniences; and
where does human corruption fail to find such? But it cannot be denied
that the state in question is very favorable to salvation, since it
is based upon the counsel of Jesus Christ; and that, on the contrary,
the possession of property is dangerous for salvation, since He Himself
has said emphatically: "How hardly shall they that have riches enter
into the kingdom of God."

While the Evangelical poor continued at Rivo Torto, the Emperor Otho
IV, who was on his way to Rome with a great train, in order to be
consecrated and crowned by Innocent III, passed by their hut. They
were too mortified to pay any attention to the pomp of his retinue;
but Francis ordered one of them to go to the emperor and tell him that
all the glory which surrounded him would be but of short duration. The
religious obeyed, and boldly told the emperor what had been commanded.
The prediction displeased the prince, who, nevertheless, admitted from
the event that it was well founded. For, having violated his coronation
oath, and committed various injustices towards the Church, he was
excommunicated the following year by the same Pope; and afterwards
deprived of his empire, and abandoned by the whole world. It is thus
that the greatness of the world, so fickle in itself, and always put
an end to by death, falls sometimes even before that, by misconduct,
and by the just judgments of God.

Zeal for the salvation of souls induced Francis to move his small troop
into the Valley of Rieti. He halted at an abandoned hermitage on a
large rock, which he thought to be a convenient place for entering
into conversation with God.

Being at prayer one day on this rock, and ruminating in the bitterness
of his soul on his past years, he was assured, by a fresh inspiration
of the Holy Ghost, that his sins were forgiven him, which filled him
with joy. We cannot doubt but that his sins had been remitted him at
the period of his conversion, by sincere contrition and the sacrament
of penance. But in this happy moment he received the assurance thereof
by revelation, and he learnt at the same time that the remission was
entire, that is to say, that all the temporal punishment due to his
sins had been remitted.

St. Bridget, whose revelations are sanctioned and respected by the
Church, relates that she learnt from our Saviour that, when Francis
retired from the world to enter on the way of perfection, he obtained
from God a lively sorrow for his sins, which enabled him to say: "There
is nothing on earth which I am not heartily willing to give up; nothing
so laborious and so toilsome that I would not joyfully endure, nothing
that I would not undertake, according to the strength of my body and
soul, for the glory of my Lord Jesus Christ; and I will, as far as is
possible, excite and induce all others to love God with their whole
hearts, and above all other things." Such beautiful sentiments, well
lived up to and exemplified by actions and conduct, would give us, not
an entire assurance as to the remission of our sins, but a firm and
well-founded confidence thereof.

The holy penitent received with this plenary indulgence the grace of
an ecstasy, wherein, by a bright illumination from on high, God
communicated to him what was to occur to his order. When he returned
to join his disciples he said:--"Take courage, my dear children, rejoice
in the Lord. Be not cast down at the smallness of your numbers. Let
not my simplicity nor yours alarm you, for God has shown me clearly
that, by His blessing, He will spread this family of which He is the
Father, into all parts of the world. I should wish to be silent on all
that I have seen, but charity compels me to communicate it to you. I
saw a great multitude coming to us to take a similar habit, and to
lead the same life. I saw all the roads filled with men who walked
hither, and hastened themselves very much. They came in great numbers,
French, Spaniards, Germans, English, and from almost all nations. The
noise of such as come and go, to execute the orders of holy obedience,
still sounds in my ears."

So magnificent a prediction reminds us of the prophet Isaias on the
establishment of the Church: "Jerusalem, thou who sayest, I am barren!
lift up thine eyes and look all around thee. All this vast multitude
surrenders itself up to thee. I see them coming from afar--some from
the North, others from the West, others from the land of the South;
a thousand will come forth from the smallest among them, and from the
very least a great people."

The event has verified, in the eyes of the universe, the prophecy of
the holy Patriarch. There was in a very short time a great number of
religious; his order extended itself to all parts with astonishing
rapidity, and it has multiplied itself so wonderfully for seven
centuries, that it may be looked upon as a representation of the birth
and progress of the Church.

The disciples, greatly comforted by what they had just heard and
persuaded that their master had the spirit of prophecy, entreated him
to inform them what would in future be the situation of his Order. He
explained to them in parables the good which would be effected by it,
and at the same time the relaxations which would be introduced into
its discipline, in order that the graces of God, which were to be
bestowed on it, might excite their utmost gratitude, and that the fear
of their weakness and want of fervor might render them vigilant and
humble.

The odor of sanctity which issued through the environs of the hermitage,
and the holiness of their lives, brought many persons to them for
instruction, and to profit from the edification they would receive.
A very worthy person, whose name was Philip the Long, was desirous of
entering the state of Evangelical poverty. Francis made him his seventh
disciple, and he brought them all back to the hut at Rivo Torto. In
this holy retreat he spoke to them frequently of the Kingdom of God,
of the contempt of the world, of renouncing of their own will, of the
mortification of the senses, and other maxims of a spiritual life. He
opened to them also his intention of sending them into the four parts
of the world; for, with the seven children which evangelical poverty
and simplicity had given him, it was his wish to bring all the faithful
to penance, and to generate them in some measure anew by the word of
truth, to give them, or rather to restore them, to Jesus Christ. In
fine, he told all his disciples openly, but with great humility, that
the Divine Majesty had, in His wisdom, decided to employ them, and the
companions they should aggregate to their community, to renew the face
of the earth, by their preaching and their example, in order that the
losses the Church had sustained by the corruption of morals, might be
made good; and that it was for this purpose that grace had put it in
their power so promptly to exercise the holy ministry. In order to
prepare them for this mission, he made them the following discourse,
which is worthy of being recorded at full length, in the words in which
it has been preserved by his companions, to whom it was addressed:--

"Let us consider, my dear brethren, what our vocation is. It is not
only for our own salvation that God has called us by His mercy, but
it is for the salvation of many others. It is in order that we should
exhort all the world, more by example than by words, to do penance and
to keep the Divine precepts. We are looked upon as senseless and
contemptible, but let not this depress you; take courage, and be
confident that our Lord, who conquered the world, will speak
efficaciously through you. Let us be cautious, after having given up
all, not to lose the kingdom of heaven for a trifling gain. If we find
money anywhere, let us consider it as valueless as the dust which we
tread under our feet. Let us not judge and despise the rich who live
in luxury and wear the ornaments of vanity. God is their Lord, as He
is ours; He may call them and justify them; we must honor them as our
brethren, and as our masters. They are our brethren, because we have
all the same Maker; and they are our masters, because they befriend
the good by the assistance they afford them. Go then, and exhort men
to do penance for the remission of their sins, and for peace. You will
find some among the faithful mild and good, who will receive you with
pleasure and willingly listen to you. Others, on the contrary, people
without religion, proud and violent, will censure you, and be very
hostile to you. But make up your minds to bear all this with humble
patience, and let nothing alarm you. In a very short time many learned
and noble persons will join themselves to you, to preach to kings, to
princes, and to nations. Be therefore patient in tribulations, fervent
in prayer, and fearless in labor. Be unassuming in speech, be grave
in your manner, and grateful for the favors and benefits you may
receive. The kingdom of God, which is eternal, will be your reward.
I entreat the one and only God, who lives and reigns in three Persons,
to grant it to us, as He doubtless will grant it to us, if we are
faithful to fulfil all that we have voluntarily promised."

This discourse filled them with fresh ardor. They threw themselves at
the feet of the holy man, and joyfully received the orders he gave
them, in addressing to each one of them these words of the psalmist,
which he was accustomed to repeat when he gave those instructions which
required obedience: "Cast thy care upon the Lord, and He shall sustain
thee." Having divided the routes they were to take, by forming a cross
which pointed to the four quarters of the globe, and knowing that he
was to be the model for his brethren, he took one side for himself
with a companion, and sent the other six, two and two, to the other
sides. Wherever they found a church, they prostrated and made use of
this formula, which they had learnt from their Father: "We adore Thee,
O most holy Lord Jesus Christ! here and in all Thy churches which are
in the whole world, and we bless Thee for having redeemed the world
by Thy holy cross." They had a great veneration for all chapels, for
all crosses, and for all that had any relation to the worship of God.
As soon as any one addressed them, they wished him peace, and instructed
him in the way to gain it. If any one appeared to them to have strayed
from the way of salvation, they endeavored to bring him back in a mild
and humble manner. In their sermons they spoke ingenuously whatever
was inspired them by the Holy Ghost, pointed out the true way to heaven,
showed what were the duties of charity, and endeavored to bring all
to love and fear the Creator and keep His holy commandments.

When they were asked from what country they came, and to what profession
they belonged, they replied: "We are penitents come from Assisi;" for
they would not as yet give the name of religion to their society. There
were worthy people who received them with pleasure; but there were
many others who disapproved of their habit, their institute, their
discourses, imagining also that it was dangerous to give them
house-room, and that alms ought not even to be given to them; so that
these poor of Jesus Christ, cast off on all sides, had often to pass
the nights under porticos.

Bernard and Giles went as far as Florence. A pious individual named
Guy offered them some money, which they refused, and when it was wished
to know from them, why, being so poor, they would not take it, they
made this answer: "We have left all that we possessed, according to
the Evangelical counsel. We have voluntarily embraced poverty, and we
have renounced the use of money." So perfect a detachment, joined to
an ardent zeal for the salvation of souls, and to sublime virtues, and
particularly a patience full of meekness and charity in the midst of
insults and injurious treatment, caused them to be looked upon in the
town as holy personages; they were consulted in cases of conscience,
and dwellings were offered them.

While these Apostolic men continued their mission, Francis, guided by
the Spirit of God, returned to the hut at Rivo Torto, where he received
four additional disciples: Constantius, or John of St. Constantius;
Barbarus; Bernard of Viridant, or Vigilantius; and Sylvester, who was
a priest He was the first in the order, and his vocation was marvellous,
of which the following are the circumstances.

He had sold some stones to St. Francis for the Church of St. Damian,
and had received the payment of their value. When he saw him preside
over the distribution of the property of Bernard de Quintavalle, he
complained of having been injured in the sale of the stones, and
demanded a compensation. The servant of God, who did not choose to
have any dispute with him on the subject, taking a bag full of money,
gave him handfuls, saying: "Take this for the payment you demand from
me, but which I do not owe you." He offered him some a second time,
but Sylvester would not take it, but left him well satisfied with what
he had got. At night the injustice of what he had done occurred to
him; he conceived a sincere sorrow for it, asked pardon of God, and
promised to restore what he had extorted to the prejudice of the poor.

Nevertheless, he formed his opinion of Francis according to the ideas
of the world, and he looked with disgust on his mode of life. God was
pleased to will that he should be cured of this prejudice, which was
dangerous for his salvation, and that he should surrender himself to
the saint as one of his disciples, which was effected by means of a
mysterious dream. During the night he saw a horrible dragon, which
surrounded the town of Assisi, as if about to destroy it, together
with the entire country. Francis immediately came forth, and from his
mouth there came forth a golden cross, which reached up to heaven, and
the arms of it extended to the extremities of the earth, and its
splendor put the dragon to flight. Having had this dream three
successive nights, he perceived in it something divine, and he went
and related it to Francis, with the minutest exactness. This humble
servant of Jesus Christ, far from having the least complacency at it,
only made use of it to admire the goodness of God who grants such
favors, and to animate himself to combat the infernal dragon with
renovated energy, and publish the glory of the cross of our Saviour.
But Sylvester, profiting by the grace attached to the vision, was not
satisfied with restoring what he had unjustly extorted; he resolved,
moreover, to leave all that he possessed, to embrace poverty under the
guidance of Francis, which his affairs did not permit him to carry
into execution till the end of the year 1209. St. Bonaventure says,
that on authentic proof of the truth of the vision was the holiness
of the life he led when in the order. In fact, he undertook so sincerely
to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, and made such vast progress
in prayer, that, according to the account of this blessed Father, he
conversed with God in a manner nearly similar to what is written of
Moses: "That the Lord spoke to him as a man is accustomed to speak to
his friend."

Francis, full of the tenderest feelings for his children, was desirous
of having them all assembled together. He entreated the Lord, who had
in former times congregated the people of Israel dispersed among the
nations, to do him a similar favor in regard to his small family, and
his prayer was heard. The six who were out on missions returned to
Assisi from various places, as if they had acted in concert, without
having any notice given them. The pleasure which their return gave him
was greatly increased by the sincere and modest recital which they
made him of all that had passed in their travels for the glory of God
and the benefit of their neighbor. They gave an account, with evident
joy, of the outrages and blows they had endured and suffered, pleased
to have been found worthy to undergo those trials in the service of
Jesus Christ. The last comers envied them, and were only consoled by
the thought and hope that a time would come when they would be employed
in this holy warfare, and, should an opportunity be given them, of
displaying equal courage; the seniors embraced the latter, and
congratulated them on having chosen this holy estate of life: they all
exhorted each other to perseverance.

Their common Father brought them up in the practice of the most rigorous
penances, but with the utmost mildness and kindness. He did not impose
upon them any considerable number of prayers because he was not desirous
of compelling devotion, and rather wished that these exercises of piety
should be spontaneous. He only then prescribed to them to say daily,
for each part of the Divine Office, the Lord's Prayer three times, and
to hear Mass, at which he desired they should employ themselves in
meditating on the mystery. It is, in fact, the very best way of
assisting at the Holy Sacrifice, and the faithful should be advised
to practise it. But those are not to be censured who make use of vocal
prayer during Mass, provided they do so with attention and piety in
the very spirit of the mystery;--since there is nothing in prayer but
what is good, and because, moreover, every one has not the talent of
meditation.

The servant of God, considering that the number of his brethren
increased, thought seriously of forming a Rule for them, and having
assembled the eleven, the number they then were, he said to them: "I
see, my dear brethren, that God, in His infinite goodness, proposes
to extend our society; it is therefore necessary that we should
prescribe for ourselves a rule of life, and go and give an account
thereof to the most holy Roman Pontiff; for I am persuaded that in
matters of faith, and in such as concern religious orders, nothing can
be done which is pure and stable without his consent and approbation.
Let us then go and find our Mother, the Holy Roman Church. Let us make
known to our Holy Father the Pope, what God has deigned to begin through
our ministry, in order that we may pursue our course according to his
will, and under his orders."

A celebrated Bishop of France said, in an assembly of his clergy:
"Paul, having returned from the third heaven, came to see Peter, in
order to give a form to all future ages, and that it be established
forever, that, however learned or holy we may be, were any of us another
St. Paul, we must see Peter." These sentiments are in entire accordance
with those of St. Francis, and contain an important principle, from
which it is easy to deduce the consequence.

All the disciples applauded the proposal of their master, declaring
that they were ready to receive the rule that he would give them, and
to go to Rome to solicit its confirmation. Francis betook himself to
prayer, and composed, in a plain, unadorned style, in twenty-three
chapters, a rule of life, the immovable basis of which was the
observance of the Gospel; to which he added some exercises, which he
considered necessary for the sake of uniformity. Besides the three
vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, they renounced all possessions
whatsoever, and they bound themselves to live on charity without ever
receiving money. Clerics and laymen were alike admitted to embrace
this Institute, under the name of Friars Minor. There were also some
regulations relative to the Divine Office, prayer, the practice of
virtue, fasts, the bareness of the feet, preaching, and the missions,
which will be noticed when we come to speak of the second rule which
the Patriarch gave in the year 1223, which they keep in his Order, and
which is nothing more than an abridgment of the first. This first
having been read and accepted, Francis with his brethren set out for
Rome, to which, through humility, he chose that Bernard de Quintavalle
should lead them.

They pursued their journey with great simplicity, only speaking of God
and of things calculated for edification; they often retired to some
by-place for the purpose of praying, without troubling themselves
where they should pass the night; and God raised up persons who received
them hospitably. By an effect of His Providence, they went out of their
way to go to Rieti, where they remained two days. Francis met in one
of the streets an officer of the army, whose name was Angelo Tancred.
He was quite unknown to him, but, nevertheless, he accosted him by his
name, and said: "Angelo, you have worn long enough your spurs, your
sword, and your belt; it is time that you should have a thick cord
instead of a belt; the Cross of Jesus Christ instead of a sword; and
mud and dust instead of spurs. Follow me, therefore, and I will make
you a soldier of Jesus Christ." At the very moment the officer quitted
all things, followed Francis, took his poor habit, and became his
twelfth disciple, who now by their number resembled the twelve Apostles,
whose lives they revered. This wonderful conversion shows that God
sometimes moves sinners by his active and powerful grace; as when He
said to Matthew, "Follow me," and Matthew followed Him. But it must
also make us reflect that, in the ordinary course of things, He invites
to repentance by graces, the impressions of which upon the mind are
not so active.

The holy Patriarch continued his route, placing his entire confidence
in God; but the others became alarmed at their own simplicity, they
were fearful that it would impede their design; but God removed their
fears by a vision which their holy Father had. It seemed to him that
he was walking along a way where there was a very high tree. Coming
near it, he went under it to admire it, when all on a sudden he felt
himself raised up in the air by divine power, so that he had reached
the top of the tree, and that from thence he easily made the tallest
branches bend quite to the ground. The Holy Spirit pointed out to him
that this was a presage of the favorable issue of his application to
the Apostolic throne. This filled him with joy, and his recital of it
to his brethren renovated their courage.

The Bishop of Assisi, whom they found at Rome, received them with great
kindness. The sight of them at first gave him some uneasiness, being
apprehensive that it was their intention to leave his diocese, and
that his people would be deprived of the examples of these holy men.
But having learnt from them the motive of their journey, he promised
them to use his influence in their favor, and gave them hopes of
succeeding through the intervention of Cardinal John of St. Paul,
Bishop of Sabina, who was his intimate friend.

This prelate was of the Colonna family; he was the friend of the poor,
and of all worthy persons; he was respected for his many eminent
qualities, and had great authority at the Roman court. What the Bishop
of Assisi had already told him of Francis and his companions, of their
holy life, and of the singularity of their Institute, had excited in
him a great wish to see them. As soon as he had heard of their arrival,
he had them brought to his palace, received them with great honor, and
was so pleased with their conversation, that, after having assured
them of his favor, he begged them to consider him from thenceforward
as one of themselves. He also declared himself their protector, and
by his interference he soon procured for them the friendship of the
principal persons in the Sacred College, particularly that of Cardinal
Ugolini, nephew to the Pope, and subsequently Pope by the name of
Gregory IX.

Francis, who was anxious to get his affairs expeditiously brought to
a termination, got himself introduced to the Pope by an officer of his
acquaintance. The Pope, who was walking at that moment in a place
called the Mirror, and being deeply engaged respecting some difficult
affairs of the Church, would not so much as listen to him, but repulsed
him rudely as a stranger of no very respectable appearance. The servant
of God humbly withdrew; and it is recorded that he then restored to
sight a blind man who had had his eyes torn out. The Holy Father saw
in his sleep a palm-tree grow slowly at his feet and become a fine
large tree. Pleased with what he saw, but not understanding its meaning,
he learnt by a Divine inspiration that the palm-tree represented the
poor man whom he had ungraciously repulsed the day before. As soon as
it was day, he gave directions that the poor man should be sought for.
He was found in the hospital of St. Anthony, and came to the feet of
the Pope, and laid before him the rule of life he followed, with
energetic though humble solicitations for His Holiness's approval
thereof.

Innocent III, a Pontiff of great wisdom, acknowledged the candor and
the admirable courage and zeal of the servant of God. He received him
into his favor as one truly poor in Jesus Christ, and he was inclined
to comply with his request; however, he postponed doing so, because
his mode of life appeared novel to some of the cardinals, and so much,
beyond what human strength could endure; the evil times, and the
coldness of charity, making them think it very difficult and almost
impossible for an order to subsist without possessing any effects
whatever.

Cardinal John of St. Paul was indignant at these obstacles, and he
expressed himself with great warmth to the other cardinals in presence
of the Pope. "If you reject the prayers of this poor man, on the
pretence that his rule is novel, and too austere, let us take care
that we do not reject the Gospel itself; since the rule of which he
solicits the approval, is in conformity with what the Gospel teaches;
for, to say that Evangelical perfection, or the vow to practise it,
contains anything unreasonable and impossible, is to blaspheme against
Jesus Christ, the author of the Gospel." The Pope, struck with this
reasoning, said to Francis: "My son, pray to Jesus Christ that He may
make known His will to us, that so we may favor your wishes." The
servant of God retired to pray, and soon after returned and set forth
this parable.

"Most Holy Father, there was a beautiful young girl, who was very poor,
and who lived in a wilderness. The king of the country, who saw her,
was so charmed with her beauty that he took her for his wife. He lived
some years with her, and had children, who all resembled their father,
and had, nevertheless, the beauty of their mother; he then came back
to his court. The mother brought up her children with great care, and
after some time said to them: 'My children, you are born of a great
king, go and find him, tell him who you are, and he will give you all
that is befitting your birth. As to myself, I will not leave this
desert, and I even cannot.' The children went to the king's court,
who, seeing their resemblance to himself, and that they had the beauty
of their mother, received them with pleasure, and said to them: 'Yes,
you are my true children, and I will support you as the children of
a king; for, if I have strangers in my pay, if I maintain my officers
with what is served at my table, how much more care should I not have
for my own children, the offspring of so beautiful a mother! As I love
the mother extremely, I will keep the children she has had by me at
my court, and I will feed them at my table.'

"This king, most Holy Father," continued Francis, "is our Lord Jesus
Christ. This beautiful girl is poverty, which, being everywhere despised
and cast off, was found in this world as in a desert. The King of kings
coming down from Heaven, and coming upon earth, was so enamored of
her, that He married her in the manger. He has had several children
by her in the desert of this world, Apostles, Anchorites, Cenobites,
and many others, who have voluntarily embraced poverty. This good
mother sent them to their Father with the marks of royal poverty, as
well as of her humility and obedience. This great King received them
kindly, promising to maintain them, and said to them: 'I who cause my
sun to shine on the just and on sinners, who give my table and my
treasures to pagans and to heretics, food, clothing, and many other
things, how much more willingly shall I give to you what is necessary
for you,--for you and all those who are born in the poverty of my
much-cherished Spouse.'"

"It is to this celestial King, most Holy Father, that this Lady, His
spouse, sends her children whom you see here, who are not of a lower
condition than those who came long before them. They do not degenerate;
they have the comeliness both of their Father and their mother, since
they make profession of the most perfect poverty. There is, therefore,
no fear of their dying of poverty, being the children and heirs of the
Immortal King, born of a poor mother, of the image of Jesus Christ,
by the virtue of the Holy Ghost; and being to be brought up in the
spirit of poverty in a very poor order. If the King of heaven promises
that such as imitate Him shall reign with Him eternally, with how much
more confidence ought we believe that He will give them what He usually
gives, with so much liberality, to the good and to the bad."

The Pope listened very attentively to the parable and to its
application. He was greatly pleased with it, and had no doubt but that
Jesus Christ spoke by the mouth of Francis. He was also convinced by
an interior light of the Holy Spirit, that in him a celestial vision
which he had but some days before would be accomplished, and which,
as St. Bonaventure informs us, he himself related. While he slept, he
saw that the Lateran Church was on the point of falling, when a poor
and miserable man supported it on his shoulders. On which he exclaimed:
"Yes truly, it is that man who will support the Church of Jesus Christ
by his works and by his doctrine." He thus foretold the great service
Francis and his children would render to the universal Church, which
indeed they have rendered, and, for the last six centuries, have not
ceased to render: this was what was prefigured by the vision; although
it has been remarked as something very singular, that the Lateran
Church has been repaired, improved and ornamented by three Popes, the
children of the blessed Patriarch, to wit, Nicholas IV, Sixtus IV, and
Sixtus V.

Innocent III, moved and greatly affected by these celestial portents,
conceived for Francis a most tender friendship, which he preserved
ever after. He approved his rule verbally, granted him several other
favors, and promised many more. After having received in his own hands
the profession of the founder, and of those who accompanied him, he
directed him to preach penance in all parts, and to labor for the
extension of the Catholic faith. In order to enable them to employ
themselves more freely in preaching, and to assist the priest with
greater dignity in the performance of the holy mysteries, he directed
that the lay brethren who were then with them, should receive the
Tonsure, and wear small crowns; he even conferred minor orders on them,
and deacon's orders on Francis, whom he constituted Superior General
of all the Religious of the Order of Friars Minor, present and to come.
Those who were present promised obedience to Francis, and Francis
promised to obey the Pope. The pious Pontiff gave this new Patriarch,
with paternal kindness, instructions in various matters which related
to the well-being and strengthening of the Institution, and he assured
him of his peculiar favor; and finally, having embraced each one of
them, he gave them his blessing, and dismissed them filled with joy
and consolation.

We have witnessed these favors renewed in 1723 by Innocent XIII, of
happy memory, the fifth Pope of the ancient and illustrious house of
the Counts of Segni, to which Innocent III belonged. The Holy Father,
assisted by four cardinals, had the goodness to preside at the general
chapter of the Order of St. Francis, held at Rome in the convent of
Ara Coeli, making known to all Christendom on that splendid occasion,
that he looked upon the Friars Minor as his children, as much from
family affection, as from his dignity of Supreme Pontiff.

The illustrious author of the "Variations," who quotes the Abbot of
Ursperg, says that it was to give the Church true poor, more denuded
and more humble than the false poor of Lyons, that Pope Innocent III
approved the institution of the Friars Minor assembled under Francis,
who was a model of humility, and the wonder of the age. The false poor,
who are also known by the name of Vaudois, and are placed in the number
of heretics by Pope Lucius III, assumed the exterior of poverty and
humility, although they had none of the spirit of poverty and humility.
They were filled with hatred of the Church and its ministers, whom
they reviled in their secret assemblies. In 1212 they feigned
submission, and had the daring to go to Rome, to solicit the approbation
of the Holy See for their sect, but they were rejected by the Pope,
and from that time were obstinate and incorrigible heretics.

Conrad, Abbot of Ursperg, who was at Rome when they came there in 1212
with Bernard their master, remarks that the Friars Minor were very
different from the false poor, practised poverty with sincerity, and
were free from all errors; that they went barefooted in winter, as
well as in summer; that they received no money, and lived wholly on
alms, and were in everything obedient to the Holy Apostolic See; an
obedience which will ever be a mark by which true virtue may be
distinguished from false.

Francis, finding himself protected by the Almighty, and authorized by
the Pope, acquired great confidence. He placed his most apostolical
Order under the immediate protection of the holy Apostle, whose tomb
he visited. He took leave of the Cardinals, John of St. Paul, and
Ugolini, whom he made acquainted with his intentions, and to whom he
expressed his great gratitude; then he took his departure from Rome
with his twelve companions, and bent his steps to the Valley of Spoleto,
there to practise and preach the Gospel.

On the way he conversed with them on the means of adhering faithfully
to the rule, and relative to the manner in which they should strive
to attain perfection, so that they might be examples to others. One
day the conference lasted so long, that the hour for their meal passed
by without their having stopped; finding himself tired, they went a
little out of the way to rest. They were very hungry, but they had no
means of satisfying their craving. There then came to them a man who
brought them a loaf, and immediately disappeared, without their having
had it in their power to notice from what side he had come, or which
way he had gone from them. Then, says St. Bonaventure, Divine Providence
came to the aid of the poor of Jesus Christ, when all human assistance
failed them. They were well aware that the company of their holy founder
procured them this favor from Heaven; and the miraculous nourishment
they had just received, which renovated the strength of their minds
as well as that of their bodies, by the interior consolation they
received from it, inspired them with a firm resolution never to swerve
from the poverty to which they had devoted themselves.

Pursuing their route towards Orta, they came in the plain near that
town to a church which had been deserted, and where, having offered
up their prayers, they agreed to stop, until such time as they should
learn where it was God's intention they should settle themselves. From
thence they went, daily, to the town to preach penance in the public
places; and it was with much fruit for the salvation of souls. The
people began to feel attached to them; and as they saw that on their
quest they refused everything but what was strictly necessary, they
took very many things to the church in which they had retired, and
those considered themselves fortunate who could make themselves useful
to them. They even came in crowds to see them, and to listen to the
discourses of these new men, whose actions and whose speech made them
appear as persons descended from heaven.

But Francis, who found that this concourse of people interrupted and
disturbed their spiritual exercises, determined to leave this place.
The very beauty of it decided him to do so. It was a most agreeable
spot; on one side there were meadows covered with beautiful flowers;
on the other, a thick wood, where birds carolled the livelong day;
near the church there was a fine spring, and a rivulet, whose waters
murmured pleasantly around them; the view of the whole plain, with
that of the town beyond it on the heights, was all that could be wished.
The holy man was fearful lest so delicious an abode should enervate
the minds of his disciples, that the vigor of their intellect, so
requisite for penitential reflections, should become relaxed when
surrounded by objects so pleasant to the senses; and lest that which
inspired gladsomeness should make them lose the seriousness necessary
in prayer, and deprive them of the spiritual delight which is felt
therein. Thus, as a skilful general who was the leader of the soldiers
of Jesus Christ, and only followed His intentions, he made his little
band raise their camp at the end of a fortnight, and resume their march
towards the Valley of Spoleto.

In the way they counselled together whether they should communicate
with the world, or whether they should retire into some solitary
retreat. Francis, not choosing to trust either to his own lights or
to those of his companions, had recourse with them to prayer, to
ascertain what the will of God was on this head; and he learnt by a
revelation, St. Bonaventure says, that God had sent him expressly to
gain souls which the devil was endeavoring to draw away from Jesus
Christ. He therefore resolved to dedicate himself to this holy
employment, and to live a life which should be useful to his neighbor
rather than to himself; being likewise animated thereto by the example
of Him of whom St. Paul said: "One died for all." With this view he
continued his route to the Valley of Spoleto, and brought his brethren
to the hut at Rivo Torto, near Assisi, where he had been before.

One must feel surprised that St. Francis, with all the assurances he
had of his vocation, could have doubted for a single instant that he
had been sent by God for the spiritual service of his neighbors. But
his doubts only had their rise in the powerful attractions he had for
contemplation, which the tenderness of his conscience made him fearful
of resisting, by employing himself in the exercises of an active life;
and it was this that lessened his inclination for the functions of
Apostolicity; for, according to the doctrine of the Fathers, and of
Saint Bernard in particular, there are no more worthy ministers of the
Gospel than such as devote themselves to conversation with God in
retreat, and who leave that retreat to preach the doctrines of salvation
only when they have reason to think that God calls upon them to do so.
Our Lord, who thus in his wisdom permitted that His servant should
labor under this uncertainty, revealed to him already that he was
destined to labor for the salvation of souls, and we shall see, further
on, that He assured him again by other revelations.

The hut in which these men devoted to evangelical poverty had retired,
was so small and so confined, that, far from being able to lie at full
length in it, there was barely room for them to sit, insomuch that
their Father was obliged to assign to each his place by writing his
name on the joists, in order that they might pray and take their rest
without being incommoded. They remained some time in this miserable
habitation, which might be looked upon more as a tomb for the living,
or rather for such as were dead to the world; and they bore it for the
love of God, with more fraternal charity and gaiety than can be
described. The life they led there was so laborious, and so poor, that
frequently, not having a morsel of bread, necessity compelled them to
search the country for herbs and roots, which they ate with
satisfaction; preferring to be nourished with tears rather than with
any other food.

Their most frequent exercise was prayer, and that more mental than
vocal, because they had not as yet books for saying the Divine Office.
A wooden cross, of moderate size, which Francis had fixed in the middle
of the hut, round which they prayed, served them instead of a book.
They meditated on it unceasingly, and read in it with the eyes of
faith, instructed by the example of their saintly chief, who often
discoursed to them on the Passion and Cross of Jesus Christ.

However, they wished to learn from him what vocal prayers they ought
to recite; and he told them, as our blessed Saviour had told the
Apostles: This is the prayer that you will say: "Our Father, who are
in heaven, hallowed be Thy name," etc. To which he added the Act of
Adoration which he had before taught them: "Lord Jesus Christ, we adore
Thee in all the churches in the whole world, and we bless Thee for
having redeemed the world by Thy holy Cross." He likewise taught them
to praise God in all things, to make use of all creatures, to raise
up their minds to Him, to have great respect for priests, to be
inviolably attached to the true faith, which is believed and taught
by the Holy Roman Church, and to confess it plainly. His faithful
disciples put in practice all that he taught them, and conformed to
all his maxims, which they did in still greater perfection after the
marvel which we are about to relate.

Francis being one Saturday in Assisi, in order to preach on the Sunday
morning in the cathedral, as it was his custom to do, retired to a
small shed in a garden belonging to the canons of the church, to pass
the night in contemplation, which he usually did. About midnight, a
fiery car of great brilliancy, on which there was a globe as bright
as the sun, and which gave a light equal to that of noon, entered into
the hut in which the brethren were collected, and moved round it three
times. Some of them were watching and praying; the others, who were
taking a little rest, awoke. It is not to be said how great their
astonishment was when they found themselves enlightened, as well
interiorly as exteriorly, by this penetrating light, which manifested
to them the state of their consciences.

St. Bonaventure remarks on the subject of this marvellous light, on
the testimony of those who had been witnesses of it, that they
understood well, by this luminous and burning figure, God represented
to them the lively and holy flames which illuminated their Father,
who, though absent in the body, was present with them in spirit, in
order that, as true Israelites, like unto Eliseus, they might look up
to and imitate this new Elias, whom He had appointed the light and
guide for spiritual men. Doubtless, he continues, the Lord, who opened
the eyes of the servant of Eliseus, that he might see around that
Prophet, that "the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire,"
would also, at the prayer of Francis, open those of his disciples to
shew them the marvel which was operating in their favor.

At his return from Assisi, the Father conversed with his children on
the prodigy which they had witnessed, and took occasion from it to
confirm them in their vocation. He entered in detail as to the secret
dispositions of their consciences; he foretold them many circumstances
relative to the increase of his Order; he made known to them, in fine,
so many sublime things beyond human ken, that they became perfectly
aware that the Spirit of God rested fully on him, and that their
greatest security would be in a conformity of themselves to his life
and doctrine.

People were so greatly moved and affected by his virtues and his
discourses, that many presented themselves to join his Order, but he
declined as yet to receive them, because the hut was too small for the
twelve he had; but he availed himself of the opportunity to say to
these: "My dear brethren, God, in His goodness, has made known to me
that He proposes to increase our poor family. I cannot receive those
who wish to join us, until I have a place large enough to admit all.
We require a larger habitation, as well as a church, where we may hear
mass, say the Divine Office, and deposit in peace those of our society
who may die. Let us therefore go to our lord Bishop and the canons.
Let us earnestly entreat of them, for the love of God, to cede to us
some church near the town, and to put our rising Order under cover in
some part of their domain. If they cannot assist us, we will go and
ask the same favor of the Religious of Mount Soubazo."

The Bishop of Assisi and the Canons had it not in their power to promote
such views, having no church at their disposal; but the Abbot of Mount
Soubazo, with the consent of the community, granted him for himself
and his brethren the chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, or of
Portiuncula, which he had put into repair, but he added this condition,
that, if the Institution became more extended, this church should be
always considered the place of its origin, and the chief monastery.

Francis received the present, and accepted the condition with great
thankfulness. He came and told his brethren of it, expressing the
pleasure he felt, in having, for the first church of his Order, a
church of the Blessed Virgin, very small and very poor, obtained by
begging, and in which he had first taken upon himself the Apostolic
life.

On the same day he went to St. Mary of the Angels, where a pious
ecclesiastic of Assisi was living, whose name was Peter Mazancoli, to
whom the care of that church had been intrusted after it had been
repaired. He communicated to him the cession which the Religious of
Mount Soubazo had made to his Order, and begged him to come and live
with his brethren.

As true piety, which is charity itself, is never jealous, and is
delighted in what is of advantage to its neighbors, the ecclesiastic
embraced Francis, and assured him how desirous he was to see the Blessed
Virgin honored and praised in this place, which she loved, where
concerts by the angelic host were constantly heard. As a proof of this,
he called a laborer of the vicinity, who certified to have several
times heard in the night melodious canticles, and to have seen a great
light come forth from the windows.

The experience of Francis himself was an additional proof. For, being
in prayer during the following night in order to recommend his family
to the protection of the Blessed Virgin, he saw on the altar, by means
of a splendid light, our Saviour Jesus Christ, His holy Mother, and
a multitude of angels, who cast upon him looks of great benignity. He
adored, and recited these words: "O most holy Lord, King of Heaven,
Redeemer of the world, sweet Love! and thou, O Queen of Angels! by
what excess of goodness do you come down from heaven into this small
and poor chapel?" He immediately heard this reply: "I am come with my
Mother to settle you and yours in this place, which is very dear to
us." All then disappeared, and Francis exclaimed: "Truly this place
is holy, which ought to be inhabited by angels, rather than by men.
As long as I possibly can, I will not leave it; it shall be, for me
and mine, an eternal monument of the goodness of God!" It became, in
fact, a great object of devotion and veneration for himself and his
brethren, particularly after it had been revealed to him that, among
all the temples consecrated under the name of the Blessed Virgin, this
was the one for which she had the greatest attachment.

At break of day he sent for the other religious by his companions,
with directions to bring with them the few pieces of furniture which
they had in the hut at Rivo Torto, in order to place them in the house
adjoining the church of St. Mary of the Angels, which the pious
ecclesiastic willingly gave up to them.

He communicated to the new guests the sanctity of the place they were
about to inhabit, and recommended them to live therein holily, never
ceasing to praise the Lord. Then he said to them: "You must be very
grateful to the Benedictine Fathers for the benefit they have conferred
upon us. They have consecrated all the habitations we shall hereafter
have, by this house of God, which is the model of the poverty which
must be observed in all the houses of our Order, and the precious germ
of the holiness which we must seek for in it."

But, in order to show that he did not live there as on a property
wholly his, as well as for a mark of his gratitude to his benefactors,
he took care to have taken yearly to the Abbey of Mount Soubazo, as
a ground-rent, a basket of fish, a species of mullet, which is taken
in quantities in the River Asi, or Chiascio, near the Church of St.
Mary of the Angels. The Friars Minor have always cherished the feelings
of the blessed Patriarch for the Order of St. Benedict. They will ever
manifest, with sincerest gratitude, that it is to this great order,
so ancient and so celebrated in the Church, that they are indebted for
their first establishment, and for many other benefits.

BOOK II

A. D. 1210

It was therefore in the small Church of St. Mary of the Angels, or of
Portiuncula, that Francis laid the foundations of the Order of Friars
Minor, which spread over the whole earth with wonderful rapidity. This
holy place was, as it were, the cradle of the Institute, and the nursery
of the houses of the religious; the source which supplied a great
river, which was divided into various channels; the citadel from whence
numerous brave warriors went forth to encounter the enemies of the
Church; the school which has produced a very great number of saints,
and a multitude of learned men, whose doctrine and piety have been
equally celebrated.

The new habitation, less confined than the hut of Rivo Torto, enabled
the Patriarch to receive the postulants who had before presented
themselves; among whom may be noticed, Leo, Rufino, Masseo of Marigan,
and Juniper:--Leo, whom Francis chose for his confessor and secretary,
and whom he generally called Pecorella Di Dio (the sheep of God), on
account of his admirable candor. Rufino, of whom he said: "I learnt,
by a revelation, that he is one of the most faithful and of the most
pure souls that there is in this world, and I should have no fear of
giving him, though in a mortal body, the title of Saint, since he is
already canonized in heaven." Masseo, whom he often sent, instead of
going himself, to converse with persons of piety, in order not to be
interrupted in his own meditations, because this religious added great
mildness and suavity of manner to a rare talent of speaking about
heavenly things. Juniper, whom he found so valuable for his evangelical
simplicity, for his contempt of himself, and for his great desire to
attract upon himself the contempt of the world, that, alluding to his
name, he used to say good-humoredly: "I wish to God we had a wood full
of such Junipers."

The charitable father had all his children in his heart, and he brought
them up with a tenderness truly maternal. He was the first to go from
door to door, to ask charity to provide for their wants; sometimes he
even went alone, to spare them the mortification of begging, under the
impression that they might still retain the prejudices of the world
on this head. But the weakness of his frame not admitting of his
providing for all, and his religious being bound to subsist on charity
alone, he resolved to teach them to solicit it for the love of God,
and he made them the following exhortation, which they have recorded:--

"My very dear brethren and well-beloved children, be not ashamed of
soliciting alms, since our Lord became poor in this world for the love
of us, and that, following His example, we have chosen this state of
the most perfect poverty. For, if we have made this choice for the
love of Jesus Christ, we must not blush at begging in our quality of
poor. Heirs of the kingdom of God should not blush at what is a pledge
of their heirship. Yes, we are heirs of heaven; this is a benefit which
our Lord has obtained for us, to which He has given us a right, as He
has to all those who choose to live in a state of holy poverty. I make
known to you as a truth, that a great number of the most noble of the
age will become members of the Order, who will consider it an honor
to solicit alms, and who will look upon it as a favor to be permitted
to do so. You, therefore, who are the very first of the Order, do this
cheerfully; do not refuse to practise what you will have to teach these
saintly personages. Go, then, and with the blessing of God solicit
alms, full of confidence and joy, more than would be felt by him who
should offer a hundred for one. For it is the love of God you offer
in asking, when you say, 'For the love of God, bestow your charity on
me;' and in comparison with this divine love, heaven and earth are as
nothing."

To mitigate the reluctance still felt by some of them, he brought
forward the two following motives: "The bread which holy poverty causes
to be collected from door to door, is the bread of angels, because it
is the good angels who inspire the faithful to bestow it for the love
of God. It is thus that the words of the prophet, 'Man ate the bread
of angels,' are fulfilled in these holy poor ones. God has given the
Friars Minor to the world in these latter times, that the elect may
have it in their power to practise what will cause them to be glorified
by the Supreme Judge, when He will address them in these mellifluous
words: 'What you did to one of these, the least of My brethren, you
did it to Me.' It is pleasing to solicit charity in the capacity of
a Friar Minor, whom our Master seemed to designate expressly by the
appellation, 'the least of My brethren.'"

The disciples, persuaded and moved by this appeal, went of their own
accord to quest in the neighboring places, to get the better of the
natural repugnance they felt to it. At their return they presented
themselves to their Father with satisfied countenances, which delighted
him, and by a holy emulation they were proud of the things they had
collected for the love of God. One of them returning one day with much
cheerfulness, singing loudly the praises of the great Benefactor of
men, Francis took from him the weighty wallet, which was full of bits
of bread, placed it on his own shoulders, kissed the shoulders of him
who had carried it, and came and said publicly: "So it is that I wish
my brethren to go always on the quest, and return from it: ever gay,
and glorifying God for all the good which He does in our favor."

The blessed founder employed himself day and night unceasingly in
inspiring them with the love and practice of the most sublime virtues;
he warned and exhorted each one of them in particular, and he made
discourses to them when collected, on the most essential heads; and
this again he enforced by his own good example; knowing that they were
called by God to train up those who would embrace his rule in the
different parts of the earth, and that on the instruction of the one
depended that of the others.

Under such a master, with the powerful assistance which they received
from Heaven, they made in a short time such considerable progress,
that the latest comers were not less competent for the exercise of the
Evangelical ministry than the first. Altogether animated with the same
spirit, watching, fasting, praying, penetrated with the fear of God,
full of holy desires, they resembled in a great degree the primitive
Church confined in the supper-room. Francis, who was perfectly
acquainted with their most inward feelings, and with the intentions
of Divine Providence, thought that he ought not to delay sending them
forth on missions according to the idea of St. Chrysostom, who says
that the Apostles, who were commissioned to labor in the conversion
of the world, were necessarily separated, and that it would have been
very prejudicial to the interests of the universe had they kept together
longer.

But, as he had not yet heard them preach, he desired prudently to judge
by his own experience of their respective talents. Having assembled
them together, he desired Bernard de Quintavalle to speak on the
mysteries of religion. He immediately obeyed, and spoke beautifully
on the several points. Peter of Catania was directed to set forth the
greatness of God, which he did with as much facility and learning as
if he had been long perfect in the art of preaching. A third was called
upon to give an exhortation on avoiding sin, and practising virtue,
which he complied with in powerful language. In short, they all handled
the subjects which were allotted to them, so as plainly to show that
wisdom was given to them from on high.

After they had made this essay in preaching, or rather this masterpiece
of eloquence, Jesus Christ, who had inspired their thoughts and words,
appeared in the midst of them in the form of a very beautiful young
man, and gave His blessing to each of them successively, with wonderful
benignity. This astonishing vision threw them into a rapturous
transport; after which, Francis addressed them as follows:

"My brethren, and dear children, give abundant thanks to God most
powerful, and to His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, for having deigned
to have communicated celestial treasures through the speeches of the
most simple of men; for it is God who causes infants to speak, who
opens the mouths of little children, and makes the tongues of the most
ignorant eloquent: His goodness renders Him compassionate to the world,
which is loaded with crime. He has resolved to warn men of the woes
into which they are plunging themselves; and in order to root out from
amongst them the works of the devil, which are sins, He has chosen
vile and despicable preachers, so that no one shall have reason to
glorify himself before Him, and that every one shall acknowledge that
all the good which is done comes from Him. Although there are few among
you of whom it can be said that they have worldly wisdom, or are
powerful or noble, yet it is you whom the Lord hath chosen for this
important work. It is His will that you should go into all parts to
honor Him by your actions and by your words, bringing to His fear and
to His love such as have strayed into evil ways."

"Prepare yourselves therefore to set forth; gird your loins according
to the commands of Jesus Christ; be courageous; put on the armor of
faith; be devoted to the service of the Gospel; always prepared to let
yourselves be carried away as clouds, whithersoever the Spirit of God
may direct you, by the guidance of obedience, to shed the dew of the
divine word on the dry and arid soil of hardened hearts. For our Lord
has not called you into this Institute to think of nothing but saving
your own souls quietly, without any fatigue, in the hearts of your
country, and in the bosom of your families; His intention is, that you
carry His name and His faith into the nations, and before the kings
of the earth. Now, lest we should appear to be slow in carrying His
will into execution, we will divide Italy amongst us; and soon after,
we will make other missions into more distant countries."

To this discourse the disciples replied, that they were prepared for
everything; that, having renounced their own will, they only waited
the order to commence the journey; and that the distrust they had of
themselves in consequence of their simplicity, was counterbalanced by
the confidence they had in the assistance of the Almighty, which
animated them.

The next morning Francis divided Italy among them, taking Tuscany for
himself with Sylvester, who was the first priest in his Order, so that
he might, by this arrangement, be at the shortest distance from St.
Mary of the Angels, where he left some of the brethren to guide the
novices whom he should send there.

Two reasons induced him to make his beginning in Italy. The first was,
that it appeared to him to be just that the Divine Word should be first
spread in that country, of which the preachers were natives, as the
Apostles had done in regard to the Jews. The second was, that he might
judge from what they should effect among the Italians, what they were
capable of effecting elsewhere: in which his judgment is to be admired.

He could not doubt but that the vocation of his children came from
God; nevertheless, he used all the precautions which prudence dictated,
because he knew that the Lord, who acts according to His good pleasure
by secret and supernatural means, chooses that men on their part should
pursue the ordinary course in all that depends on them. This is a sure
ground-work, which is not only a rule in all that relates to salvation,
but also is applicable to the affairs of this life.

The man of God, having commenced his route towards Tuscany, passed
through Perugia, where he preached in the great square, as is customary
in Italy. Some young gentlemen, of the first families of the place,
came also there for the exercises of the tournament, and made so much
noise that the preacher could be no longer heard. As they continued
their lance exercises, notwithstanding the remonstrance of the people,
the Saint, turning to the side in which they were, addressed them in
the following words with great animation:--

"Pay attention, and learn what the Lord declares to you through me,
who am His servant, and do not imagine to satisfy yourselves by saying,
This is only a man from Assisi who speaks to you." (A precaution he
took because Perugia and Assisi, neighboring towns, were always opposed
to each other.) "What I tell you, I do not tell you as man. God has
raised you above all the adjacent countries; in gratitude for which
you should humble yourselves, not merely in His eyes, but before all
the world. But, on the contrary, your strength and your glory have so
inflamed your pride, that you have pillaged and laid waste all that
surrounds you, and you have killed no inconsiderable number. For which
reason I declare to you that, unless you be speedily converted, and
repair the damage you have done, the Lord, who suffers no evil to be
committed with impunity, will take revenge on your sins. In order to
create in you the greater dismay, He will suffer you to rise up one
against the other, to excite a popular commotion, and to do yourselves
much greater injury than any of your neighbors could do to you."

He remained some time at Perugia, where they soon saw the effect of
his threats. The nobles were irritated against the plebeians, the
clergy joined the party of the nobles, and they came to blows; the
people, who were the strongest, drove the others out of the town. The
discomfited party, in order to be revenged, laid waste everything in
the country which belonged to the people; who, by way of reprisals,
pillaged the houses of the nobles, and massacred their servants and
even their children. Indeed the disaster was so great, that, according
to the prediction, armed neighbors could not have caused any greater.

The Perugians having thus, at their cost, discovered the holiness of
the preacher, wished to retain him in their city, and entreated him
to choose what place he pleased for his abode. Many young persons of
pure morals joined his Order; one among others, whose vocation was
very singular. As he was walking one day out of the town, his mind
intent upon his wish to consecrate himself to God, Jesus Christ appeared
to him, and said: "Man of desires, if you hope to be in the enjoyment
of what you wish for, and to effect your salvation, take a religious
habit and follow Me." He immediately asked into what order he should
enter. Our Lord answered him: "Join the new Order of Francis of Assisi."
He then made this further inquiry: "Lord, when I shall have joined
that Order, what mode of life shall I follow, to be more agreeable to
Thee?" and this is the answer he received: "Lead the usual life; enter
into no particular intimacies with your brethren; take no notice of
the defects of others, and form no opinion to their disadvantage."
These are admirable means for living holily and peaceably in a
community. The young man came and offered himself to Francis, who knew
that Jesus Christ had sent him, and he admitted him immediately, giving
him the name of Brother Humble, on account of the humility he found
in his heart.

At Crotona, to which place he next took the word of God, there was
another young man named Guy, who, moved by his preaching, had invited
him to dinner: "This young man," said Francis, "will enter our militia
to-day, and will sanctify himself in this town." He was the oldest
of his family, brought up in study and in virtue, and the excellence
of his conduct exceeded even that of his education. He frequented the
churches and the sacraments, he gave great alms, and visited the sick
to assist them; he wore a hair-shirt, and chastised his body severely,
to enable him to preserve his virginal purity. He had made a vow to
do this. After the dinner, he knelt down and petitioned for the habit
of a Friar Minor, which he received in the principal church of the
town, in the presence of a numerous concourse of people, after having
first fulfilled two conditions which the father had prescribed for
him: The first was, to give to the poor all that he had inherited by
his right of primogeniture; the second was, to renounce all the rest
of his fortune. It was in the same town that he lived a most holy life,
as had been foretold, honored by many miracles; now by permission of
the Holy See, he is publicly invoked.

The love of prayer and retirement made Francis wish to find in the
neighborhood of Crotona a fit place for building a house suitable for
the education of his novices. Guy pointed one out to him in the valley,
near a place called Celles. This location greatly pleased him, because
it was solitary; and by the aid of some pious persons, he built a very
poor dwelling, which he soon filled with novices, and where he received
the celebrated Brother Elias, of whom we shall have much to say
hereafter.

Having spent nearly two months in preaching at Crotona, and in forming
his novices at the Convent of Celles, he was inspired to pass over to
a desert island in the middle of the Lake of Perugia. Lent was drawing
near. He recommended the care of the house to Sylvester, without letting
him know what his own intention was; and on Ash-Wednesday he caused
himself to be taken to the island by a boatman, having with him only
two loaves of bread. The boatman was a worthy man and his friend. He
begged him not to tell any one where he was, and only to come to him
on the Wednesday of Holy-Week, to take him back to the shore.

Having made himself there a sort of hut in one of the thickets, to
preserve himself from the cold, he had his intercourse with God alone
during two and forty days; and his fast was so rigorous, that of the
two loaves he brought with him he only ate half a one.--In
ecclesiastical history we meet with examples of these miraculous fasts,
of which the Holy Fathers have had an assured knowledge, and which the
weakness of human nature was enabled to sustain by virtue of the Spirit
of God, which supported them. The fruit which they were to derive from
it, was to animate the faithful to keep, with as much exactness as was
in their power, the fasts prescribed by the Church, and particularly
the fast of Lent, which many principal motives of religion render so
venerable.

On Wednesday in Holy-Week, the boatman went to fetch Francis and bring
him back to Crotona. On the passage the Saint stilled a storm, by
making the sign of the cross on the waves; and as soon as he had landed
he went to the Convent at Celles, where he passed the remainder of the
Holy-Week with his brethren. His confidant did not think it necessary
to keep the secret of the marvellous fast. The rumor spread, and many
persons went to the island to see and venerate the hut in which he had
lived. The miracles which were wrought there by the merits of the
Saint, induced some persons to build there; and gradually a small town
arose, where later a church was built, with a convent of his Order,
near a spring at which he had drunk; sick were afterwards cured there.

After the Easter solemnities, he placed a superior in the convent;
then having tenderly embraced the religious, he made the sign of the
cross on them, and separated himself from them to go to Arezzo.

This town was at that time greatly agitated by internal dissensions,
which were likely to bring on its entire ruin. Francis being lodged
in the suburbs, where he had been hospitably received, saw over the
town, with the penetrating sight which the Almighty had given him,
devils who excited the citizens to massacre each other, and who appeared
to be transported with joy. To put these evil spirits to flight, he
sent Sylvester, as his herald, and gave him this command: "Go to the
gate of the town, and standing before it, order the devils, in the
name of the Almighty God, and in virtue of obedience, instantly to
retire." Sylvester, who was a man of extraordinary simplicity, praising
God beforehand for what was about to happen, went as fast as possible,
and cried out with all his might: "All you devils who are here, begone,
go far from hence. It is in the name of God and of His servant, Francis,
that I call upon you to go." At this very moment the citizens, who
were on the point of flying to arms, came to an understanding on the
points which were in dispute, and peace was restored to the town. On
which St. Bonaventure remarks, that the obedience and humility of
Francis had obtained for him that absolute power over the proud spirits
who fear and fly from the sublime virtue of the humble.

It became known in Arezzo who the author was of so sudden a
reconciliation, because the words which had been spoken by Sylvester
had been heard. Francis was sought for and brought into the town in
a sort of triumph, notwithstanding the efforts he made to escape from
this honor. He preached in the great square on the love of peace, and
on the means of preserving it; pointing out to them that dissensions
and quarrels came from, and are promoted by, the evil spirit. The
magistrates entertained him at the town-house, and had a convent built
for his Order according to his wishes, that is to say, according to
holy poverty; in which he placed some worthy subjects who had presented
themselves to him. A child was brought to him who was quite distorted;
he took it into his arms, and it forthwith became straight. This
miracle, and several others which he performed during his stay, proved
that God had given him as much power over bodily complaints as over
the evil spirits.

From Arrezo he bent his steps to Florence, preaching with great success
throughout the route. The lords of Ganghereto received him with great
respect, and were so pleased with the holiness of his life, that they
begged his acceptance of a field and a small wood for the service of
his religious. He set up a hut there, where his infirmities compelled
him to remain some time. After preaching and prayer, to which he daily
gave some time, one after the other, he employed himself in building
a small wall round a spring of water which he got miraculously, and
which still flows, the water of which God was pleased to render
salutary.

As soon as his health was in some degree restored, he continued his
way towards Florence, where he went to lodge in the hospital. The
following day he preached in the town, and was listened to as a saint.
They gave him a small dwelling near the church of St. Gall, about five
hundred paces from the city, in which he received several novices, who
rendered themselves illustrious by their exalted virtues; among whom
John Parent is particularly noticed, who was a native of Carmignano,
near Pistoria.

His conversion was attributable to a very peculiar circumstance. As
he was walking one evening in the environs of the town, he saw a
swineherd who was endeavoring to drive his pigs into a stable, and
who, being in a great passion because, instead of going in, they
dispersed themselves in all directions, called out to them in his
anger: "Swine, get into this stable as judges get into hell." He had
scarcely said the words, when these animals went quietly in. That which
might have appeared to this magistrate nothing but an impertinence,
struck him, and made so strong an impression upon him, that, having
seriously reflected on the dangers incurred by a judge (which are
indeed very great) as to salvation, he threw up his magistracy, and
retired to Florence. There he saw Francis, examined his conduct, admired
his virtues, and felt himself called by God to imitate him. An only
son of his had a similar vocation. The father and the son divided their
all among the poor, and became disciples of the Saint, whose prophecy
began thus to be fulfilled: that the wise and learned of the world
would enter into his Order.

Such a conversion sets before us this important truth: that the Spirit
breatheth where He will; that the Lord gives His grace sometimes to
what is most common, most simple, and even most base, according to the
notions of the world; that it is necessary to be attentive, that we
may not receive the grace of God in vain; and that, little as it may
seem at first, by being carefully attended to, it may have the most
beneficial results. Not to be thankful for it, to neglect it, to resist
it, is a heavy loss.

While Francis was at St. Gall, he foretold a thing which the event
justified a few years afterwards. Three men at Florence brought each
a child to receive his blessing. As soon as he was apprised of it, he
went into the garden and gathered five figs, then he came in, and gave
one to the first of the children, one to the second, and three to the
third, to whom he addressed the following words: "You will be my dear
child." That one, when he had attained the proper age, took the habit
of the Friars Minor, and was called Brother Angel, which he deserved
by his angelic life, which was the fruit of his great devotion to the
Blessed Virgin, from whom he received very marked favors.

From the month of October, 1211, to the beginning of 1212, the man of
God visited the Towns of Pescia, Pisa, San Miniato, Sarthiano, Cetona,
and other places in Tuscany, where he made many wonderful conversions,
and left some of his brethren to continue the work of God. We shall
relate, at the end of his life, the great honors which were publicly
shown him,--honors which he received with the greatest humility, and
yet with the most generous sentiments.

The brethren whom he had dispersed in the other provinces of Italy,
and who partook of his apostolic spirit, labored on their part with
great zeal and success. They founded many establishments, and formed
many disciples, whom they sent to the holy Founder in order to receive
the habit of the Order from him.

They mention particularly what happened at Bologna to Bernard de
Quintavalle. As soon as he made his appearance, his extraordinary and
very poor habit made him looked upon as a person not worthy of notice.
He went to the great square in order to preach the truth of salvation,
and he went there several times without having collected an audience.
Children and idle people surrounded him; some pulled him by the hood,
others threw mud and stones at him; and he was daily assailed with
fresh outrages, which he bore with exemplary patience.

A lawyer, having noticed this, made his reflections on it, and it
occurred to him that his conduct might be attributed to virtue rather
than insensibility. One day, then, he came up to Bernard and asked him
who he was, and what he had come to do at Bologna. "You will know who
I am," replied Bernard, "if you will take the trouble to read what I
now offer you." It was the Rule of Francis, of which he had a copy,
and which he placed in his hand. The lawyer having read it with
astonishment, said to those who accompanied him: "I own I have never
seen anything so perfect or so heroic as this mode of life. Those who
ill-use this man are very criminal; he ought, on the contrary, to be
loaded with honors, as a special friend of God." Then, addressing
himself to Bernard, he said: "If you will follow me, I will give you
a place in which you may serve the Lord." Bernard, having accepted the
offer, was taken to the house of his benefactor, who received him with
affection, and gave him a house, which he furnished with everything
necessary, and promised to protect him and his companions. After this,
Bernard was so highly respected in Bologna, that people considered
themselves fortunate if they could get near him, touch him, or even
see him. This truly humble man, mortified at the honor which was shown
him, went to Francis, and said, "My Father, all is in good order at
Bologna. But send any other religious thither rather than me, for I
have no longer any hopes of being useful there: it is even to be feared
that I may lose many graces on account of the great honors I receive."
This prudent mistrust of himself was as pleasing to the holy Father
as the affection of the Bolognese, to which he responded by sending
them several of his disciples, who subsequently spread the Order
throughout all Romagna.

The holy Patriarch returned some time before Lent to St. Mary of the
Angels, where his first care was to examine rigidly whether in his
Evangelical progress some worldly dust might not have adhered to him
in consequence of his communications with seculars; and in those
instances in which the extreme delicacy of his conscience gave him
room for self-reproach, he purified himself by very severe penitential
observances. He then applied himself carefully to the formation of the
novices, whom he had collected from various places, and he preached
during the Lent at Assisi.

His discourses, backed by his example, and his prayers and exhortations,
animated by an ardent zeal, were so efficacious, that in the town and
county of Assisi a very great number of persons was converted, and the
fire of divine love was kindled in every heart. "Then," says St.
Bonaventure, using the words of the Holy Scriptures, "the vine of the
Lord spread its branches and bore flowers of a most agreeable odor,
and produced fruits of glory in abundance." There were many young girls
who made vows of perpetual virginity; amongst whom, says the same holy
doctor, the Blessed Clare appeared as the most beautiful plant in the
garden of the Celestial Spouse, and as a star more brilliant than all
the others.

This illustrious maiden was the daughter of a rich and noble family
of Assisi. The Cavaliere Favorine, or Favarone, her father, was
descended from the ancient and powerful houses of Scifi and Fiumi. Her
mother, of equal high birth and exalted piety, was called Hortulana.
She had the talent of joining the care of her household to the practice
of good works, and to regulate her time so well, that she found enough
in which to visit, with the consent of her husband, many holy places:
she even made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. If this practice is no
longer usual in these days, particularly as regards distant countries,
it arises from the circumstances of the times being very different,
and from there having been a great change in manners. But Christian
piety does not permit us altogether to condemn (independently of abuses)
voyages or journeys of devotion, since they are sanctioned by the
examples of the saints, have been approved by the Fathers of the Church,
and since at one time they were directed as sacramental penances for
certain sinners.

Hortulana had three daughters, Clare, Agnes, Beatrix. Being about to
be confined of the first, and praying to God before a crucifix in a
church for a safe delivery, she heard a voice, which said to her:
"Woman, fear not, thou wilt bring forth, without danger, a light which
will illuminate a vast space." This was the reason she gave the name
of Clare to the daughter to whom she gave birth, in the hopes of seeing
the accomplishment of what it might signify.

Indeed, from her earliest years, her virtue shone as an aurora, the
prognostication of a fine day. She received with docility the
instructions of her mother, and her whole conduct was the fruit thereof;
the exercise of prayer became familiar to her; she every day recited
the Lord's Prayer a number of times, which she marked with small stones,
in order to be exact in the daily number she had assigned for herself.
In that she resembled the solitary of the Desert of Seethe, who kept
an account of the number of his prayers, offering them to God three
hundred times each day. Naturally tender and compassionate to the poor,
she aided them voluntarily, and the opulence of her family enabled her
to assist them abundantly. But, in order to render her charities more
agreeable to God, she sent to the poor, by confidential persons, the
nicest eatables which were served to herself. The love of God, with
which these holy practices inflamed her heart, inspired her with a
hatred of her own body, and showed her the vanity of all the things
of this world. Under her own costly dresses, which her situation in
society obliged her to wear, she constantly had a hair-shirt; and she
cleverly refused a proposal of marriage which her parents wished her
to accept, recommending to God her virginity, which she intended to
preserve in entire purity. Although she was at that time confined in
the bosom of her family, and solely intent on sanctifying herself in
secret before the eyes of God, her virtue became the subject of
admiration, without her being conscious of it, and drew down upon her
the esteem and praise of the whole town.

The great celebrity which the sanctity of Francis gained in the world,
could not be unknown to young Clare.--Aware that this wonderful man
renewed a perfection on the earth which was almost forgotten, she
wished much to see him and to have conversations with him. Francis
also, having heard the reputation of Clare's virtues, had an equal
desire to communicate with her, that he might tear her from the world
and present her to Jesus Christ. They saw and visited each other several
times. Clare went to St. Mary of the Angels with a virtuous lady, a
relation of hers, whose name was Bona Guelfucci; Francis also came to
see her, but always taking the necessary precautions to have the pious
secret kept. She placed herself entirely under his guidance, and he
soon persuaded her to consecrate herself to God. An interior view of
eternal happiness inspired her with such contempt for the vanities of
the world, and filled her heart with such divine love, that she had
a complete loathing for finery, which it was not as yet permitted her
to throw aside; and from that time she entered into engagements to
live in a state of perpetual virginity.

The holy director did not choose that so pure a soul should continue
longer exposed to the contagion of the world. She had herself come to
him some days before Palm-Sunday to hasten the execution of her
intention; he told her to assist at the ceremony of the delivery of
palms dressed in her usual ornaments, to leave Assisi the following
night, as our Blessed Saviour had left Jerusalem to suffer on Mount
Calvary, and to come to the church of St. Mary of the Angels, where
she would exchange her worldly ornaments for a penitential habit, and
the vain joys of the world for holy lamentations over the Passion of
Jesus Christ.

On the 18th of March, being Palm-Sunday, Clare, magnificently dressed,
went with other ladies to the Cathedral Church, and as she remained
in her place out of bashfulness while the others crowded forward to
receive the palms, the bishop came down from the altar, and carried
a palm branch to her, as a symbol of the victory she was about to gain
over the world.

The following night, accompanied as propriety required, she arranged
her flight as her spiritual Father had directed, and according to the
earnest wish of her soul. Not being able to get out by the front door,
of which she had not the key, she had the courage and strength to break
open a small door which had been blocked up with stones and wood, and
she repaired to the church, where Francis and his brethren, who were
saying their matins, received her with great solemnity, bearing lighted
tapers in their hands. They cut off her hair before the altar, and
after she had taken off her ornaments with the help of the females who
accompanied her, she received the penitential habit, consecrating her
virginity to Jesus Christ, under the protection of the Queen of Virgins,
while the religious chanted hymns and canticles.

It was a touching scene to see a young noble lady, only eighteen years
of age, in solitude, in the middle of the night, renounce all the
advantages and allurements of the world, put on sackcloth and a cord,
and devote herself to a rigorous system of penitential exercises,
solely for the love of God. Similar sacrifices can only be made by a
supernatural virtue; they prove that the religion which inspires them
is divine; and justly does St. Ambrose consider them to be far above
the most heroical pagan virtues.

It must be remarked, moreover, that the Church of St. Mary of the
Angels, which was the cradle of the Order of the Poor Evangelical
Brethren which Francis had just established, was also the place where
Clare made profession of the same poverty, that she subsequently
prescribed to the Order of Women, which she instituted together with
the holy Patriarch. This gives to the two orders the pleasing
consolation of knowing that they belong to the Mother of God from their
origin, and that she is specially their mother.

As soon as the ceremony was over, Francis, who was always guided by
the spirit of wisdom, took the new bride of Jesus Christ, followed by
her companions, to the monastery of Benedictines of St. Paul, there
to remain until Divine Providence should provide a dwelling for her.

When morning dawned, and her parents learnt what had occurred during
the night, they were overwhelmed with grief. They equally disapproved
of what Clare had done, and of the manner in which she had carried her
intention into execution; and they went in great numbers to the
monastery of St. Paul, to compel her to leave it. At first they spoke
to her in mild and friendly terms; they represented to her that she
was choosing a vile and contemptible state of life, which was
disgraceful to her family, and that there was no precedent in the whole
country of such an occurrence. After which they attempted by violence
to force her from the monastery; which they might easily have done,
because in those times the religious females did not keep strict
enclosure, beside which her relations were all military men, accustomed
to acts of violence.

Clare uncovered her head to show them that she was shorn; and she
protested, clinging to the altar, that nothing in the world should
tear her from Jesus Christ. Either because they had too much respect
for religion to venture to violate so holy an asylum, or that God
restrained them by His power, they molested her no farther. She had
only to resist the fresh efforts they made to induce her to return to
her father. But the love of God gave her courage to resist with such
determined firmness, that, giving up all hopes of conquering her, they
left her in peace.

A short time after, Francis removed her from the Monastery of St. Paul
to that of St. Angelo de Panso, of the same Order of St. Benedict,
near Assisi, to which she drew her sister Agnes. The conformity of
their inclinations and manners, which rendered them tenderly united,
had made them sensibly feel their separation. Clare was greatly grieved
that Agnes, at so tender an age, should be exposed to the dangers of
the world. She prayed fervently to the Almighty to cause her sister
to feel the sweets of His grace, so that she might grow disgusted with
the world, and become her companion in the service of Jesus Christ.
Her prayer was soon favorably heard, for, a fortnight after her
consecration, Agnes came to her, and declared that she was decided to
give herself wholly to God. "I return Him thanks," replied Clare, "for
that He has thus relieved me from the uneasiness I was in on your
account."

The indignation of the family was extreme, when it became known that
one sister had followed the other. On the morrow, twelve of its
principal members hastened to the Monastery of St. Angelo. At first
they feigned to have come in a peaceful mood; but, having been admitted,
they turned to Agnes, for they had no longer any hopes of Clare, and
said: "What business have you here? Come immediately home with us."
She replied that she did not choose to leave her sister, when one of
the knights, forgetting himself altogether, attacked her furiously,
struck her with his fist, kicked her, pulled her down by the hair, and
the others carried her off in their arms. All that this innocent lamb
could do, thus torn by the wolves, was to cry out: "My dear sister,
come to my aid; do not let them separate me from Jesus Christ." Clare
could give her no assistance, but by praying to God to render her
steadfast, and to check the violence of her ravishers. This prayer was
followed by a miraculous effect, similar to what the Church records
in the life of the illustrious virgin and martyr, St. Lucia.

As the relations of Agnes dragged her down the mountain, tearing her
clothes, and scattering her hair along the road, because she continued
violently to resist, she became suddenly so heavy, that they were
unable to raise her from the ground, even with the help of persons who
flocked from the fields and the vineyards. They were blind to the
finger of God in so extraordinary an event, and they even made a jest
of it; for ill-disposed persons, like the Pharisees of the Gospel,
do not submit to the evidence of miracles, but carry their impiety to
the length of turning all miracles into ridicule. The one which God
was pleased to perform in the person of Agnes, threw her uncle, whose
name was Monaldi, into such a rage, that he raised his arm to strike
her in such a manner as would have killed her, if the Divine power had
not arrested the blow by bringing such an excessive pain into the limb
as to disable it; this pain lasted a considerable time. This is a grand
lesson for those parents who prevent their children from consecrating
themselves to God in a religious state. If they do not experience in
this world the effects of His anger, they ought to fear the consequences
of the anathema in the next with which the Council of Trent menaces,
not only them, but those also who compel their children to embrace a
religious state.

Clare came to the field of battle, where she found her sister half
dead. She entreated the relations to retire and to leave her in her
care, which they regrettingly did. Agnes then rose with great ease,
glad to have had a share in the cross of Jesus Christ. She returned
to the monastery with her sister, to consecrate herself to God under
the direction of Francis, who cut off her hair with his own hands, and
instructed her in the duties of the state she was about to enter.
Clare, not having her mind quite at ease in the Monastery of St. Angelo,
removed to the house which adjoined the Church of St. Damian, the first
of the three which he had repaired, and where he had foretold that
there would be one day a monastery of poor females, who should lead
a sanctified life, and whose reputation would cause our Heavenly Father
to be glorified.

Clare had scarcely fixed herself there, when the fame of her sanctity
spread all around, and produced wonderful effects. The influence of
grace was so great, that there were many persons of all sexes and all
ages, of all states of life, nobles and rich, who took to a religious
life. They mutually incited each other in families, as St. Jerome tells
us that it occurred in all Africa, when the illustrious virgin,
Demetrias, moved by the exhortation of St. Augustine, took the holy
veil. It was even seen that married persons separated by mutual consent,
and entered separate convents: and those who could not do this, strove
to sanctify themselves in the world. The virtues of the holy spouse
of Jesus Christ, as a precious perfume, attracted pure and innocent
souls, who made the house of St. Damian a numerous community, and the
cradle of the Order of the Poor Clares, or Poor Ladies, the second of
the three orders which were established by St. Francis. He appointed
Clare Abbess of St. Damian, although her humility made her wish to be
the servant of the others, and he only overcame her repugnance by
enforcing that obedience which she had promised him.

It was there that this holy abbess was enclosed during a period of
forty-two years in the practice of the most eminent perfection, and
which we shall have an opportunity of referring to, when we come to
speak of her rule.

After Francis had regulated the spiritual exercises of these nuns,
provided for the enclosure, and placed the house in good order, he
turned in his mind things personal to himself, as to what should be
his future way of life. In order to come to a decision, he consulted
those of his brethren with whom he was in the habit of having familiar
intercourse, and proposed to them his difficulties as follows:

"My brethren, what do you advise me? Which of the two do you think
best: that I shall give myself to prayer, or that I shall go forth to
preach? To me it seems that prayer is what is most advantageous to me,
for I am a simple person, who am not a good speaker, and I have received
the gift of prayer, rather than that of speech: moreover, we gain much
by prayer; it is the source of graces; but, in preaching, we only
distribute to others what God has communicated. Prayer purifies the
heart and the affections; it unites us to the sole true and sovereign
good, and strengthens us in virtue. Preaching renders the feet of the
spiritual man dusty; it is an employment which dissipates and distracts,
and which causes regular discipline to be relaxed. In fine, in prayer
we speak to God, and we listen to Him; we converse with the angels,
as if we lived an Evangelic life. In preaching we must have much
condescension towards men, and, living with them, we must hear and
see, speak and think, in some measure as they do, in a human way. But
there is one thing which seems to prevail over all this before God,
which is, that the Only Son, who is in the bosom of His Father, and
is the Sovereign Wisdom, came down from heaven to save souls, to
instruct mankind by His example and by His word, to redeem them by His
blood, and to make of this precious blood a bath and a celestial
beverage: all that He had He gave up liberally and without reserve for
our salvation. Now, having bound ourselves to do all things according
to the model given us in His person, it seems more in conformity to
the will of God, that I should give up my own repose in order to labor
for the benefit of others."

After all these reflections, he continued in an anxious state of
uncertainty as to the course he ought to take; and this man, who had
wonderful knowledge through the spirit of prophecy, had no light thrown
on his doubts by prayer: God permitting at that time that he should
not be sensible to the evident proofs he had, that he was called to
the apostolic life.

We have already seen that powerful attractions to a contemplative life
had given rise to similar difficulties arising in his mind. As he
wished in all things to act faithfully and perfectly, his principal
care was to apply himself to the virtues which he knew, by the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to be most agreeable to God.

St. Bonaventure says that this was the ground of his doubt, and he
gives two reasons why God permitted that the Saint should not have
been able to solve the difficulty, the solution of which appeared so
easy. The first is, in order that the heavenly oracles which had
announced that Francis was destined to preach the Gospel, should give
a more exalted idea of the merits of that ministry; to this may be
added, that it was of consequence that it should be known with certainty
that the holy Founder and his disciples were destined by Heaven to
labor for the salvation of souls, since in after times it has been
found that some of their adversaries have contested it. Secondly, the
doubt of the servant of God was useful in preserving his humility and
rendering it still greater. In the capacity of a Friar Minor, he was
not ashamed of seeking the advice of the least of his brethren, he who
had been taught such elevated things from the Sovereign Master. It was
likewise one of his maxims throughout his whole life, and of the
principles of the sacred philosophy, of which he made profession, to
address himself to the simple as well as to the learned, to the
imperfect as well as to the perfect, to the young as to the old, with
the ardent desire to find from intercourse with them in what way and
by what means he could best serve God according to His good pleasure,
and raise himself to the greatest perfection.

Finally, we must not be surprised that he entreated God to grant him
additional proofs of his vocation, after having received such convincing
ones by revelations, by miracles, and from the mouth of the Vicar of
Jesus Christ; when we see in the Sacred Scriptures, that Gideon, having
been chosen by God to fight the enemies of His people, and this choice
having been manifested by the apparition of an angel, by a miracle and
by a revelation, he nevertheless begged the Lord to give other
miraculous signs, in order to be still further assured of it, and his
prayer was granted. Would to God, that, without asking for miracles
and without expecting them, all vocations, particularly those for the
holy ministries, and other affairs of conscience, were examined on
such sound principles, and weighed by means as likely to deserve the
light of Heaven.

In order to know how finally to decide, Francis sent two of his
religious, Philip and Masse, to Brother Sylvester the priest, who was
then on the mountain near Assisi, continually intent on prayer, begging
him to consult the Lord on the subject of his doubt, and to let him
know the result. He made a similar application to Clare, recommending
her to put the same question to her sisters, and particularly to the
one who should appear to her to be the most pure and most single-minded.
The venerable priest and the consecrated virgin gave similar answers,
and pronounced that it was the will of God that Francis should go forth
to preach.

When the two religious returned, Francis received them with great
respect and affection; he washed their feet, embraced them, and gave
them their meal. He then took them into the wood, where he knelt
bareheaded and inclined, with his hands crossed upon his breast, and
said to them: "Now tell me what my Lord Jesus Christ commands me to
do?" "My very dear brother, and my Father," replied Masse, "Sylvester
and Clare received precisely the same answer from our Lord Jesus Christ,
which is, that you set out to preach; because it is not for your
salvation alone that He called you, but for the salvation of others
also; and for them He will put His words into your mouth."

Then Francis, moved by the Spirit of God, as the prophets had been,
and inflamed by the fire of charity, rose up, saying: "Let us then go
in the name of the Lord;" and he set out with two of his companions,
Masse of Marignan, and Angelo of Rieti. He walked so fast to obey the
words of Heaven, that it was easy to see that the Lord acted upon him,
and that he had received fresh strength from above for the ministry
of preaching. His companions were the more convinced of this by the
very extraordinary wonders which were worked by him on the route.

The apostolical preacher went first to Bevagna, where he pronounced
an excellent discourse on the love of God; after which, in presence
of the whole audience, he restored the sight of a blind girl by putting
spittle three times on her eyes in the name of the Blessed Trinity.
This miracle had a salutary effect on a number of sinners, who were
converted; and many of them joined him who was the instrument of the
Divine Power.

So many souls gained to Jesus Christ in one place, stimulated him to
carry the faith into the Levant. The triumph of martyrs, whose charity
could not be extinguished by the violence of persecutions, excited in
him a holy jealousy. Burning with similar fire, he wished to offer
himself, as they had done, a sacrifice, in order to mark his gratitude
in some measure, by the effusion of his blood, for the goodness of
Jesus Christ, who vouchsafed to die for our salvation, thus the better
to excite others to love Him. But he desired to have the sanction of
the Sovereign Pontiff for this undertaking, and therefore bent his
steps to Rome, preaching as he went the truths of salvation, which God
confirmed by miracles.

Arrived at Rome, he sought an audience with the Pope. Innocent III
still filled the Papal throne; he first communicated to him the
wonderful extension of his Order, the holy lives of his brethren, and
the design which God had to bring about a reformation of morals in the
world, which was growing old, and was visibly in a state of decay.
Then he disclosed the project he had of transporting himself to the
lands of the Mahometans and Tartars, to endeavor to give them some
knowledge of the Gospel. It must be remarked, that the Saint attributed
to the world that decay which is the effect of old age, but he did not
extend this to the Church, because he well knew that, although old,
she was not infirm. St. Augustine says, that her old age is always
young, fresh, vigorous, and that she bears fruit in abundance. The
Pope, who was very religious, was highly gratified at the fortunate
success which he now learnt had attended the Saint's labors; he
willingly granted the servant of God leave to preach to the infidels,
and he affectionately gave him his blessing.

Two sermons which Francis preached at Rome procured him two disciples,
Zachary and William; the one was a Roman, the other was an Englishman.
John de Capella, of whom we have before spoken, having left the Order
about this time, and having had a similar end to that of Judas, William
was substituted for him, as St. Mathias had filled the place of the
traitor in the Apostolate, and William was afterwards always considered
as the twelfth of the first companions of the Patriarch.

A Roman widow, very noble and very rich, called Jacqueline de Settesoli,
having heard the Saint preach, was very anxious to have an interview
with him. He agreed to it, although reluctantly, and he gave her such
salutary instructions, that she committed the care of all her affairs
to her two sons, who were afterwards senators, in order that she might
apply herself to the sanctification of her soul, employing the gift
of tears which God had given her, to weep incessantly the neglects of
her past life. This lady and St. Clare were the only two persons of
the female sex with whom the servant of Jesus Christ had any intimate
relations on the subject of their salvation; which ought to serve as
a caution for this sort of direction lest it be too greatly
multiplied,--and be unholy.

As there is no affection more solid or more effective than that which
is grounded on charity, the pious widow rendered to Francis and his
brethren all the good offices in her power. When they came to Rome she
provided them with lodgings, she fed them, clothed them, and assisted
them in their sicknesses with the tenderness of a mother. It was she
who procured for them from the Benedictines of the Abbey of St. Cosmas
beyond the Tiber, a refuge in the Hospital of St. Blaise; and this
hospital with its church was entirely ceded to them by the same
religious order in the year 1229, at the request of Pope Gregory IX;
it is to this day the Convent of St. Francis of Ripa. Thus the Friars
Minor are indebted to the children of St. Benedict for the first
establishment they had in Rome, as well as for that of St. Mary of the
Angels, or Portiuncula, the first of the whole Order.

Francis, having terminated his business at Rome, returned to St. Mary
of the Angels, where he communicated to his brethren his intention of
proceeding to the Levant. He exhorted them in the strongest terms to
perfect themselves in the exercises of a religious life; he left them
Peter of Catania as superior during his absence, and set out with one
companion for Ascoli. At that place they were extremely anxious to see
and hear this admirable man, who was everywhere looked upon as a saint:
he had scarcely arrived in the town when all flocked to him; whichever
way he went, a crowd followed him; every one was anxious to get near
him, and they pressed upon each other in order only to be able to touch
his miserable habit. His presence and preaching in this town procured
him thirty disciples, some priests, and some laymen, whom he placed
in different houses of the Order.

The desire of martyrdom which he aspired to from the infidels, did not
admit of a longer stay at Ascoli; he therefore made for the sea-side,
and embarked on board a vessel which was bound for Syria. But on the
passage the winds became adverse, and they were obliged to come to
anchor off Sclavonia, where he remained some days in hopes of finding
some other vessel bound to the Levant. Not finding any, and perceiving
that his intention had been foiled, he applied to some seamen who were
about to sail to Ancona, to take him on board their vessel for the
love of God. They refused obstinately to do so, because he had no money
wherewith to pay his passage; notwithstanding this, the holy man
contrived to slip secretly on board with his companion.

An unknown person came on board the vessel and brought provisions with
him, saying to one of the passengers: "Worthy man, I confide these
provisions to you, for the use of two poor religious who are secreted
in the vessel; take care of them, and give food to them when required."
Who could this charitable purveyor be? There is reason to think, with
St. Bonaventure, that he was sent by God to the assistance of these
two poor religious, who were only poor for love of Him. Stormy weather
rendered the passage disastrous; they could neither carry sail, nor
return to land. All the sailors' provisions were expended: there was
nothing left but the provisions put on board for the two religious.
Divine Providence was pleased to multiply these, inasmuch that they
sufficed for all who were in the vessel for several days, during which
they were still at sea, before they reached Ancona. The sailors,
astonished at this miracle, were convinced that the poor man whom they
had refused to receive on board, had, by his merits, saved their lives,
and they returned thanks to God for His mercy.

After having landed, Francis went to several places, spreading the
word of God as a precious seed, which produced an ample harvest. Many
came to see him from afar, so greatly had his reputation been
disseminated. A celebrated poet came amongst others, having heard his
entire contempt for the things of this world spoken of. He was of the
class of persons who were called in Provence _Troubadours_, who
invented fables, and composed different pieces of poetry, which were
sung in the houses of the nobles. The art of versifying in the vulgar
tongue was uncommon in those times, and was only practised by the
nobility. The Italians imitated the people of Provence, and translated
into their language the best compositions of the _Troubadours_.
The poet of whom we are speaking excelled in this art, and the Emperor
Frederic II had crowned him as the Prince of Poets, which caused him
to be usually called "The King of Verse."

Coming then to see Francis, he passed through the Borough Town of San
Severino, and entered the church of a monastery, where the Servant of
God was preaching on the mystery of the Cross. He listened to him at
first without knowing him; but God disclosed Francis to him in the
course of the sermon, by two shining swords pierced through the Saint
cross-wise, one from the head to the feet, and the other from one hand
to the other through the breast; from this he became aware that the
preacher was the holy man of whom so much was spoken. The first
impression which the vision made upon him was, that he ought to lead
a better life; but the words of the preacher filled him with such
compunction, that he felt as if he had been pierced by the sword of
the spirit which came out of his mouth. He went after the sermon to
renounce in Francis' hands all the vanities of the world, and to embrace
his Institute. Francis, seeing him pass so perfectly from the agitations
of the world to the peace of Jesus Christ, gave him the name of Brother
Pacificus.

St. Bonaventure adds, that he was a man of so much holiness that he
received the additional favor from God of seeing on the forehead of
his Blessed Father a great T, painted in a variety of colors, which
threw a remarkable softness on his countenance. This letter, which
represents the cross, showed the interior comeliness which the love
of the cross gave to his soul.

Watchfulness and affection inspired the Father with the wish to return
to Tuscany, to visit the establishments he had founded there the
preceding year, and to learn from his own inspection how they progressed
in the ways of God. The family of the Ubaldini, which is among the
most illustrious of Florence, gave him a convent which had been built
and founded by their ancestors for the religious of the Order of St.
Basil, in the sixth or seventh century, some leagues from the city,
in the middle of a wood, and which had been since occupied by hermits.
He put some of his companions into it, and returned towards the end
of October to St. Mary of the Angels, preaching, as was his custom,
in all the places he passed through. The repose he allowed himself
after so much fatigue, was that of applying himself to the instruction
of his disciples, and addressing discourses to them full of wisdom.

At the end of this year he had an attack of ague, which became quartan,
and reduced him to a great state of languor. The bishop of Assisi, who
was a most charitable prelate, and his particular friend, having heard
of his illness, came to see him, and, notwithstanding his resistance,
had him removed to his palace, where he attended to his recovery with
the charity of a pastor and the affection of a parent. His religious
came to him there to seek the light they required. They also brought
to him such postulants as presented themselves, and those who were
recommended to him (at times there were thirty or forty) by the
missionaries he had in various parts of Italy; for none were then
received who had not been examined by the founder himself. A young
gentleman from Lucca came with tears in his eyes, to entreat him to
give him the habit. "Unfortunate young man," said the Saint, "why do
you attempt to show by your eyes what is not in your heart? You have,
without due consideration, formed a plan which you will soon as lightly
give up." In fact, a few days after he went home with two of his
relations who had come in search of him, and he thought no more of
becoming a religious.

The servant of God, having regained some portion of strength during
his residence with the bishop, by relaxing in the severity of his
abstinences, which were extreme, became irritated with his own body,
and was inflamed with the desire of humbling himself: "It is not right,"
he said, "that people should think me austere, while I am pampered in
secret." Upon which the spirit of humility suggested to him an act,
which St. Bonaventure records, not as an example, but as a prodigy,
to be compared only with those extraordinary things which God commanded
the Prophets to perform. He rose, and accompanied by a great number
of his brethren, he went to the great Square of Assisi, assembled the
people, and led them to the cathedral. Then he caused himself to be
dragged by the vicar of his convent from the church to the place of
execution, stripped, and with a cord round his neck, as the Prophet
Isaias. There, weak as he still was, and shivering with cold, he
addressed the assembly with surprising energy, and said in a loud
voice: "I assure that I ought not to receive honor as if I were a
spiritual man. I am a carnal, sensual, and greedy man, whom you ought
thoroughly to despise." The hearers, who knew the austerity of his
life, struck with such a scene, admitted that this extraordinary
humility was more to be admired than imitated.

Nevertheless, the holy doctor, whom we have just named, finds in this
some wholesome instruction. It teaches us, he says, that, in the
practice of virtue, we must avoid with great care everything having
any tendency to hypocrisy, repress the slightest approaches of vanity,
and have a sovereign contempt for praise. The humble Francis, who
strenuously labored for his interior sanctification, did many things
with a view of rendering himself contemptible, endeavoring, above all,
to prevent men from being deceived in the idea they might have formed
of his sanctity. This is the characteristic of true devotion; it has
no borrowed exterior; it is, or it endeavors to be, all that it seems.

The religious whom Francis had sent into Lombardy, fulfilled the mission
in an admirable manner. They acquired so much esteem at Milan by their
preaching and by their good example, that the archbishop of that city,
Henry Satalas, gave them an establishment there, which became
considerable later, by the liberality of the Milanese.

One of the fruits of their apostolic labors was the vocation of a young
man of rank, who was rich and talented, and who solicited the habit
of the Order. Upon their acquainting him that, to become a Friar Minor,
it was requisite to renounce all temporal goods, he immediately disposed
of all of which he was then master, and distributed the greater part
to the poor, reserving the remainder to pay the expenses of his journey
to Assisi, where he was told that it was necessary to present himself
to the founder, who alone had the power of receiving novices.

He induced some of his relations and friends to accompany him, and
took with him a considerable number of servants; one of the religious
was also requested to go with them, in order to introduce the postulant,
and favor his reception. When they arrived at St. Mary of the Angels,
Francis, seeing such a number of persons, and such an appearance of
vanity, asked the religious who was with them, who these lords were,
and what they wanted? He answered: "My Father, this is a young man,
learned and rich, of one of the first families of Milan, who wishes
to become your disciple." Francis replied, before them all, smiling:
"This young man does not seem to me to be fit for our Order, for, when
people come with so much pomp, which is the mark of a proud spirit,
to embrace a state of poverty, we are led to believe that they have
not yet sufficient contempt and aversion for the world, and that they
are not prepared wholly to relinquish it. But I will consult our
brethren on the subject."

He assembled them all, and asked their opinion, which was not to receive
him, because he had still a fund of pride, and because the love for
the splendor of the world was not yet eradicated from his heart.

The young man who was present burst into tears; and Francis, who was
moved with compassion, said: "My brethren, will you receive him if he
consents to serve in the kitchen? it will be the means of inducing him
to renounce the vanities of the world." They assented on this condition,
which the postulant willingly agreed to, protesting that he was prepared
to do anything that was required of him. The Father embraced him, after
having returned to those who accompanied him his money and his equipage.
He sent him to the hospital of St. Blasius of Rome, there to act as
cook; and the young novice attained to such perfection in that humble
employment, that Francis judged him worthy to be placed over others,
and made him superior of the same place.

The line adopted in respect to this young man shows evidently, that
for the religious profession neither birth, nor riches, nor talents,
are to be heeded, but that the essential qualifications principally
to be considered for this holy state, are, to be sincerely prepared
to die to the world and to self.

At the beginning of the year 1213, the fever of which Francis had been
cured at the bishop's palace of Assisi recurred; sometimes it was
tertian, sometimes quartan, but always with great severity. He bore
the suffering with great equanimity, because of the hatred he felt for
his body, and from the patience taught by Jesus Christ. The violence
of the fever which burned his body, was, in his opinion, a lesser evil
than the fire of temptations which inflame the soul; his sufferings
appeared to him a gain. All the saints have had a like way of thinking,
and the principles of Christianity admit of no other. The only
uneasiness the sickness gave to the holy man, was its having prevented
him putting in force the intentions he had in view for the salvation
of souls. But charity, which is ever active, suggested to him to exhort
the faithful in writing, as he could not do so in person; he therefore
addressed them a short letter, couched in the following terms:--

"O how happy are all those who love God, and who worthily practise all
that Jesus Christ has taught in His holy gospel. Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and thy
neighbor as thyself. Let us love and adore God with great purity of
mind and heart; for that is what He seeks for above all things. He has
said that the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in
truth, and that they who adore Him, must adore Him in spirit and truth.
I salute you in our Lord."

This short letter was still fresh from his hand, when an infinity of
copies were made of it, so anxious were all people to see anything
that came from the hand of so holy a person. In this simple and brief
exhortation they admired the candor of his soul and the extent of his
charity, and, in reading it, they were moved by a power which penetrated
the soul; for the words of the saints have a secret unction which is
not found elsewhere.

These spiritual services, and others which Francis rendered to his
neighbor, with the continual instruction he gave to his brethren, were
his occupations during his sickness, and until such time as returning
health permitted him to do more. He was somewhat better in the spring,
as is usually the case with those who have the quartan ague; but his
extraordinary austerities had so weakened his constitution, that he
never wholly recovered his health, and the remainder of his life was
little else than a state of languor.

As soon as he could commence travelling, he committed the care of his
Order to Peter of Cantania, and set out with Bernard of Quintavalle
and some others, in order to go to Morocco, through Spain, to preach
the Gospel to the Miramolin and to his subjects, in the hopes of
attaining by this means the crown of martyrdom, which was the great
object of his wishes.

The servant of God did not reach Spain till near the end of the year,
because he had stopped in various places to preach, to visit the houses
of his Order, and to receive accounts of others. His whole route was
a succession of miracles, and other remarkable things, which contain
admirable instructions.

At Foligno, the sign of the cross which he made on the house of his
host, protected it from various accidents, and particularly from fire,
which did no damage to that dwelling, although the adjoining houses
were three or four times on fire: the flames were even seen to take
a contrary direction. At Spoleto, knowing that a rich man thought ill
of his Institute, and refused his brethren alms, he asked him only to
give him a loaf; and, having received it, he divided it among his
religious, and directed them to say the Lord's Prayer and the
Evangelical Salutation three times, for the person who had given it.
Their scanty meal was scarcely finished, when this man came to ask
forgiveness for the harshness he had shown them, and he was, after
that, the best friend of their convent, so good an idea of their
Institution had the saint impressed upon him.

At Terni, the bishop who had listened to one of Francis' sermons,
ascended the pulpit when he had done, and said to the people:--"My
brethren, the Lord, who has often enlightened His Church by men
illustrious for their science, has now sent you this Francis whom you
have just heard, a poor illiterate man, and contemptible in appearance,
in order that he may edify you by his word and his example. The less
learned he is, the more does the power of God shine in his person, who
chooses those who are foolish according to the views of the world, to
confound all worldly wisdom. The care which God takes of our salvation
obliges us to honor and glorify Him; for He has not done the like to
other nations."

Francis followed the prelate, fell on his knees, kissed his hand, and
said:--"My lord, in very truth, no one has ever done me so much honor
as I have this day received from you. Some attribute to me a sort of
sanctity, which noway belongs to me, and which ought to be referred
to God alone, the author of every perfect gift. But you, my lord, have
wisely separated what is valuable from what is vile, the worthy from
the unworthy, the saint from the sinner; giving the glory to God, and
not to me, who am but a miserable mortal. It is, indeed, only to God,
the King of Ages, immortal and invisible, that men should give honor
and glory for ever and ever." The bishop, even more pleased with this
specimen of his humility than with his preaching, embraced him
affectionately.

In the same city, by the sign of the cross he rendered some sour wine
perfectly good, and that before persons who had tasted it in its acid
state. But he performed a much greater miracle, which was universally
admired, on a young lad who had been just crushed by the fall of a
wall; having had him brought to him, he applied himself to prayer,
and, extending himself on the corpse, as the Prophet Eliseus had done
on the child of the Sunamite, he restored him to life.

In the County of Narni, he was lodged in the house of a worthy man who
was in great affliction for the death of his brother, who had been
drowned, and whose body could not be found, so that it might be buried.
After having privately prayed for some time, he showed a spot in the
river where he said that the body certainly was at the bottom; it had
been stopped there by the entanglement of the clothes. They dived at
that place and found the body, which he restored to life in the presence
of the whole family.

The fever, and a severe stomach complaint, caused him to faint in a
hermitage which had been given him near the Borough of St. Urban, and
he asked for some wine to recover from the weakness which had ensued.
As there was none to be had there, he had some water brought to him,
which he blessed, by making the sign of the cross over it, and it was
instantly changed thereby into excellent wine. The little that he took
of it renovated him so promptly, that it was a double miracle. Upon
which St. Bonaventure remarks, that this wonderful change is a type
of the change he had effected in his heart, in casting off the old man
to put on the new.

In the City of Narni, he cured a man who had lost the use of his limbs
for five months from palsy, employing no other remedy than a sign of
the cross, which he made over his whole body; this he did at the request
of the bishop of the place, and by virtue of the same sign he restored
the sight of a blind girl. Being at Orti, he straightened a child, who