Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi (born in Assisi, Italy, 1181; died there on October 3, 1226) founded the Franciscan Order or "Friars Minor". He is the patron saint of animals, merchants, Catholic action and the environment.

St. Francis, Nature and the Environment

Legend has it that St. Francis preached to the birds and other creatures as well as to humans. He is known today as the patron saint of animals and the environment. His image is often placed in gardens in respect for his interest in all things natural.

Related Topics:
Patron saint - Animal - Environment - Image - Garden

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In 1967 historian Lynn Townsend White, Jr nominated Francis as the patron saint of ecologists and environmentalists, arguing that his approach to the natural world was one of unusual and anachronistic respect, harmony and conservationism. (White generally considered the doctrines of the Christian Church as dominant factors in the ecological crisis of the 20th century.) In 1980, Pope John Paul II gave an environmental address in which he also praised St. Francis for keeping "fraternity" with the "good and beautiful of creation" as well as respecting and caring for all men and animals.

Related Topics:
Lynn Townsend White, Jr - Ecologists - Environmentalists - Pope John Paul II

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Certainly, posthumous legends and stories promulgated by his medieval biographers claim that St. Francis preached to the birds and other creatures as well as to humans, eliciting positive responses from them. He is even said to have tamed the man-eating wolf of Gubbio with words and faith alone, transforming the vicious predator into a penitent, dependent on the charity of humans for its food. His own Canticle of Brother Sun appears to suggest a profound respect and love of natural phenomena.

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However, the academic establishment agrees that St. Francis actually had a rather conventional attitude towards his worldly environment. He did believe that the external world was inherently good as a sign and revelation of God's providence and goodness, its purpose being to inspire our respect and love, but this was not an unusual philosophy in the thirteenth century. His belief in the universal ability and duty of all animals to praise God is more unusual; however, it is far from the "sentimental pantheism" (G. K. Chesterton) suggested by Lynn White, and certainly bears no relation to current ecological or environmental sentiment.

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