00:00Today, October 4, the church celebrates Saint Francis of Assisi, an immense figure of Christian holiness,
00:11but also patron of ecologists, animals and tireless peacemakers.
00:18Today we celebrate François, Françoise, François-Xavier and all those who bear this first name.
00:24Francis was born in 1181 or 1182 in Assisi, Umbria, into a family of wealthy cloth merchants.
00:35His father, Pietro Bernardoni, intended him for a career in commerce, but the young Francis had a fiery soul and dreamed more of chivalry and adventure.
00:45His youth was joyful, carefree, often marked by parties and excesses.
00:50However, a war experience and a painful captivity will turn his life upside down.
00:58When he returned to Assisi, Francis was transformed internally.
01:04Little by little, he felt Christ's call to live differently, in poverty and simplicity.
01:10A striking episode occurs when he hears the gospel of the day, to take no gold, no silver, no bag for the road.
01:18Her words hit him hard and he decides to take them literally.
01:25Francis then publicly renounced his inheritance, much to the scandal of his father, and chose a life of total poverty.
01:35He dresses in a simple sackcloth tunic, with a rope tied at the waist.
01:40He dedicated himself to serving lepers and the poorest, seeking to follow Christ without compromise.
01:48Soon, other companions joined him, seduced by his joyful radicalism and his burning love of God.
01:57Thus was born the Order of Friars Minor, approved by Pope Innocent III in 1209.
02:04Francis is not only a spiritual reformer, he is also a poet of creation.
02:08In his famous quantum of creatures, he sings of universal brotherhood.
02:16Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Wind, Sister Water.
02:22For him, every created being refers to the creator and man must respect and love nature like a sister.
02:29This prophetic outlook makes him today the patron saint of ecologists and defenders of creation.
02:37A man of peace, Francis did not hesitate to cross the battle lines during the Fifth Crusade.
02:43to meet the Sultan of Egypt, Malik al-Khamil.
02:48Where many sought confrontation, Francis dialogues, bears witness to his faith and manifests evangelical gentleness.
02:55This episode remains a sign of brotherhood and respect between believers of different traditions.
03:04In 1224, while praying at Mount Alvernia, Francis received the stigmata, the marks of Christ's Passion in his flesh.
03:13It is the ultimate sign of his mystical union with the truncated Lord.
03:17Tried by illness and suffering, he nevertheless retains a luminous joy.
03:22Francis died on October 3, 1226, at the age of 44, at Portion Cule, the small chapel he had restored and loved.
03:33His body now rests in Assisi, in the magnificent basilica that bears his name.
03:40Only two years after his death, in 1228, he was canonized by Pope Gregory IX.
03:45Today, Saint Francis of Assisi is recognized as a model of humility, joyful poverty and universal love.
03:55His legacy continues to shine through the Franciscan orders and through the pressing call to live as brothers, respectful of creation and the poor.
04:04Prayers to Saint Francis of Assisi
04:07O Saint Francis, you who chose poverty to better follow Christ,
04:14teach us to live simply and to detach ourselves from the superfluous.
04:20You who saw in every creature a brother or a sister,
04:24Open our eyes to the beauty of nature and grant us to respect it as a gift from God.
04:29You who were a peacemaker and a witness to dialogue,
04:34help us to sow harmony in our families,
04:37brotherhood among peoples and the joy of the Gospel in the world.
04:43Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us,
04:46so that we may walk like you in the footsteps of the poor and crucified Christ.
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