and Assisi is now a pilgrimage centre for Franciscan devotees from all around the world.I don’t think that there are very many people around today that would ever deliberately force themselves into poverty and a life spent wandering and living withsick and poor strangers, while being blind and extremely sick himself at times, all because of a strong devotion to God. It seems incredible, especially in the world ofwhich we live today, that a person living comfortably with wealth and all that life has tooffer, could give it all up. St. Francis was a caring and sensitive man who loved the world around him and believed that it was all a result of a gift from God. His belief was so strong that he felt he had to, in a sense, give up his life, just as Christ had done, to serve his Lord. St. Francis left us with so much before he died. He rebuilt many of Rome’s churches and with the help of St. Clare, formed the Franciscans and the Page 5History 1010Franciscan nuns. Throughout this past century, we have seen much more interest in St. Francis butwe have had a tendency to only see the traits and characteristics about him that are shownin movies or individual writings. Because of this, we often see cartoons and caricaturesof St. Francis as a sentimental nature-lover or even as a hippy ‘drop-out’ from society. These humorous portrayals keep us from seeing how stern and devoted he really was.They don’t show his unbelievable and undeniable love for God. Still, St. Francis is Probably one of the most favorite and most loved saints of all....
