Saint FrancisPeace and Good

A journey of simplicity, courage and love

Enter the world of Saint Francis

Turn down the noise outside. Here, every story is a doorway to seeing God, other people and all creation with new eyes.

Begin the journey
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Prologue

Before he was a saint,
Francis was searching.

Francis was born more than 800 years ago in the Italian town of Assisi. He was the son of a wealthy merchant, enjoyed parties, dreamed of adventures and wanted to be admired. It sounds like the beginning of a hero's story. But his great adventure was not conquering a castle. It was learning to love.

He discovered that a life full of possessions can still feel empty. So he began asking simple, courageous questions: Who needs me? What is Jesus asking of me? How much is enough for a good life?

Read without hurrying. Some stories do not ask only to be understood. They ask to be lived.

Five paths

Choose a doorway

01

The story of a life

From a young dreamer to the brother of every creature.

↘02

Francis and Jesus

The Gospel lived with both feet on the ground.

↘03

Prayers for breathing space

Simple words for mornings, nights and difficult days.

↘04

The Franciscan family

The path continued—and it still continues.

↘05

The writings of Francis

Rules, letters and canticles preserved for eight centuries.

↘
Sacred painting of Francis tenderly welcoming a poor man on a road near Assisi

When fear met compassion

Book I · The Life

The joy that money cannot buy

c. 1181

A boy named Giovanni

His father called him Francesco, “the Frenchman.” His family sold fine cloth and lived comfortably. Francis learned music and poetry and acquired a taste for parties. He was generous, but he still did not know what to do with his life.

1202

War shatters the dream

Francis went to war in search of glory. He ended up imprisoned and ill. Months of silence gave rise to a question: if fame disappears so quickly, what is truly worth pursuing?

The change

The embrace that overcame fear

At that time, people with leprosy were driven away from towns. Francis was afraid of them. One day, however, he approached a sick man and treated him as a brother. He later wrote that what had seemed bitter became sweet. His heart began to change.

1206

Without armor or wealth

Francis returned even the clothes he was wearing to his father. He did not want to hate money; he wanted the freedom never to place money above people. He began repairing small churches and caring for those who had been forgotten.

For Francis, the world was not something to possess.

It was a family to care for.
Sacred painting of Francis praying before the crucified Jesus in the small chapel of San Damiano

Book II · Francis and Jesus

Rebuilding begins within

Tradition tells us that while Francis prayed in the chapel of San Damiano, he heard Jesus call him to repair his house. At first he gathered stones and repaired walls. Later he understood something greater: people, too, can be rebuilt with love, truth and hope.

Discover the Gospel lived out →

The Gospel with feet and hands

Five teachings to put into practice

Francis did not want only to speak about Jesus. He wanted his life to explain what he believed.

  1. I

    Begin with peace

    Before trying to win an argument, try to understand. Peace does not run from a problem: it enters without increasing hatred.

    Try this today: listen to someone until they have finished.
  2. II

    Choose enough

    Not everything we can buy needs to be bought. When we use less, we make room for gratitude, sharing and breathing.

    Try this today: give away something good that you do not use.
  3. III

    See a brother or sister in someone who suffers

    Francis drew near to the people his society kept out of sight. He learned that no one loses their dignity.

    Try this today: do not leave anyone alone at recess, at work or at the table.
  4. IV

    Care for our common home

    For Francis, the sun, water, animals and plants were not objects. They were brothers and sisters because all come from the same Creator.

    Try this today: care for one small part of creation.
  5. V

    Act first

    Beautiful words are seeds. Actions are the water. Goodness becomes visible when it leaves our mouths and reaches our hands.

    Try this today: do something kind without telling anyone.

Book III · Prayers

A small chapel in the middle of the day

Choose what your heart needs. Breathe slowly. You do not need to feel anything special—you only need to be present.

L

Lord, thank you for the light of this new day. Give me attentive eyes to notice who needs care, hands ready to help and a simple heart that does not rush past what matters. May I carry peace wherever I go. Amen.

Original prayer inspired by Franciscan spirituality

The familiar prayer that begins “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace” expresses the Franciscan spirit beautifully, but it appeared centuries after Francis. He did not write it.

The Canticle of the Creatures

A song that calls everything brother or sister

Near the end of his life, when he was ill and had little sight, Francis composed a canticle of gratitude. In it, the sun is brother, the moon is sister, water is humble and precious, and the earth sustains us.

☼Brother Sun☾Sister Moon≈Sister Water♨Brother Fire❧Mother Earth

Francis did not worship nature. He praised the Creator with nature. When everything becomes a gift, care stops being merely an obligation and becomes gratitude.

Sacred painting of the first Franciscan friars walking together at dawn through the hills of Assisi

Book IV · Franciscans

A fraternity that crossed the centuries

Other young men saw how Francis lived and asked, “May we come with you?” A fraternity was born. They were not perfect. They learned as they walked, served and began again.

Friars Minor
Consecrated men who live in fraternity, prayer and service.
Poor Clares
The community begun by Saint Clare, Francis's friend and spiritual companion.
Secular Franciscan Order
Lay women and men who live the Franciscan spirit in their families and professions.
Franciscan Youth
Young people who make fraternity, faith and care for creation a way of life.
Two friars preserve an old sheet of parchment by the light of an oil lamp

Book V · The Writings

The words that remained

Rules, letters, counsels, praises and a canticle have crossed eight centuries on fragile sheets. Now the ancient archive is open.

Enter the book of manuscripts →

Map of the journey

A life in eight moments

Born in Assisi

He grows up among fine cloth, songs and dreams of knighthood.

War and prison

Defeat shatters his plans and opens new questions.

Conversion

He welcomes the sick and prays at San Damiano.

First brothers

The small group receives the approval of Pope Innocent III.

Clare begins her path

The community we know as the Poor Clares is born.

Meeting in Egypt

Amid a crusade, Francis speaks with Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil.

Mount La Verna

In deep prayer, he receives the marks of Christ's wounds.

The final song

He dies near the Portiuncula, calling even death his sister.

Tau symbol with a bird and olive branch

The path continues in you

Peace begins small.

In listening. An apology. A glass of water. A tree cared for. A person who is no longer invisible.

Pray now