Among the most beloved saints in the Catholic tradition, Francis of Assisi (c. 1181-1226) is popularly remembered for his dedication to poverty, his love of animals and nature, and his desire to follow perfectly the teachings and example of Christ. During his lifetime and after his death, followers collected, for their own purposes, numerous stories, anecdotes, and reports about Francis. As a result, the man himself and his own concerns became lost in legend. In this authoritative and engaging new biography, Augustine Thompson, O.P., sifts through the surviving evidence for the life of Francis using modern historical methods. The result is a complex yet sympathetic portrait of the man and the saint. Francis emerges from this account as very much a typical thirteenth-century Italian layman, but one who, when faced with unexpected crises in his personal life, made decisions so radical that they challenge his own society-and ours. Unlike the saint of legend, this Francis never had a unique divine inspiration to provide him with rules for following the teachings of Jesus. Rather, he spent his life reacting to unexpected challenges, before which he often found himself unprepared and uncertain. The Francis who emerges here is both more complex and more conflicted than that of older biographies. His famed devotion to poverty is found to be more nuanced than expected, perhaps not even his principal spiritual concern. Thompson revisits events small and large in Francis's life, including his troubled relations with his father, his contacts with Clare of Assisi, his encounter with the Muslim sultan, and his receiving the Stigmata, to uncover the man behind the legends and popular images. A tour de force of historical research and biographical writing, Francis of Assisi: A New Biography is divided into two complementary parts-a stand alone biographical narrative and a close, annotated examination of the historical sources about Francis. Taken together, the narrative and the survey of the sources provide a much-needed fresh perspective on this iconic figure. "As I have worked on this biography," Thompson writes, "my respect for Francis and his vision has increased, and I hope that this book will speak to modern people, believers and unbelievers alike, and that the Francis I have come to know will have something to say to them today."

Read the story of the world's best-loved saint! Discover his message of joy, forgiveness and peace, and his love for all of God's creation.

This three-volume project produces a translation of the extant texts of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries that present the life and writings of Francis of Assisi. It 1) provides a new and more complete publication of the early Franciscan critical texts that offer fresh translations in light of the scholarship of the past three decades; 2) provides a more manageable and accessible edition of the Franciscan texts in several volumes; 3) presents scholarly introductions, critical apparatus, and annotations to give readers biblical, historical, sociological, hagiographical, spiritual and pastoral perspectives; 4) situates the Franciscan texts within the Christian tradition and context of their day. The texts chosen represent the most important sources for studying the life and vision of Francis. The Saint includes The Writings by Francis, The Life of Francis by Thomas of Celano, The Liturgical Texts, The Life of Francis by Julian of Speyer, The Versified Life of Francis by Henri DÂ’Avranches, The Sacred Exchange between Saint Francis and Lady Poverty and Related Documents. Also included is a general introduction to the series by Regis Armstrong, helpful introductions to each section, colored maps, extensive annotation.

A Vision Book about St. Francis and St. Clare, the two very popular saints of Assisi. Helen Homan has captured all the excitement and beauty of the lives of these saints from their childhood growing up together in Assisi to their profound conversion and lifelong influence�indeed centuries-long influence�on the whole world through their radical living of the Gospel and founding of two great religious orders, the Franciscans and the Poor Clares. Combining the stories of Francis and Clare in one volume makes for a book that will be of great interest to both boys and girls of a wide age span. Illustrated. Cover art by Chris Pelicano This book is now part of Renaissance Learning's Accelerated Reader program. Quizzes are currently available.

The loving, inclusive life and preaching of Francis of Assisi make him a recognizable and beloved saint across many faith traditions. In the ten-year-anniversary edition of Eager to Love, globally recognized spiritual teacher Richard Rohr, OFM, provides for spiritual seekers a pathway to the inclusivity, freedom, and beauty found in the Christian mystical tradition. As an integrative thinker, Rohr expertly weaves psychological insights and literary and artistic references with Franciscan theology, showing that the rich theological contributions of St. Francis, St. Clare, St. Bonaventure, and John Duns Scotus are guiding lights for sincere spiritual seekers.

While weaving together Clare’s story and Francis’s story, Margaret Carney draws special attention to Clare’s significant contribution to the Franciscan world in the many years following Francis’s death. Far from merely reflecting Francis’s light, Clare had her own charism, “a gift bestowed by the Spirit of the Lord and given to her in a fullness and forcefulness that was hers alone." This book will introduce St. Clare of Assisi to those who do not know her and those who wish to know her better. It leads the reader from Clare's birth to her death. While taking account of modern scholarship, Sr. Margaret Carney tells the story of this medieval woman in a way readers today can understand.