Similarities between
Pope Francis and
Saint Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi (Scott 1452, 2010) Saint Clare of Assisi (Scott 169, 1953) Pope Francis (Scott 1523, 2013) As the Church and the world moves past the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, it is worth taking a look back at the saint from whom he took his name, Saint Francis of Assisi, and look at the similarities the late pope shared with the great 13th century Italian saint. Saint Francis of Assisi: St. Francis of Assisi was born to Pietro and Pica di Bernardone in 1181. He died in 1226, at the age of 45. His family was a part of the wealthy merchant class: a class above the peasant class, but not a member of royalty. The family lived under the feudal system--Kings, Lords, Knights, Merchants and Peasants. It was the aspiration of St. Francis to become a knight which would avail him the status of a nobleman. To be a nobleman you had to inherit it or fight in a battle, be it the Crusades or a battle to defend the King’s land ownings or for the acquisition of land as ordered by the King. St. Francis did not attend a university, but because of his father’s wealth, he was worldly and educated. To follow his dream of becoming a Knight he joined the Army and took part in the war between Assisi and Perugia. He was captured and held in prison for almost a year. His father paid a ransom for his release since he was ill. In the military he saw war as an evil. When he came back to Assisi, he would pray at the broken-down church of San Damiano. It was during this prayer time that Francis felt a calling to “help the poor”. He aspired to be a poor beggar, the “lesser of the world”. He gave money from selling his father’s merchandise to the pastor of Sam Damiano for the purpose of repairing the San Damiano church. Saint Francis saw that for him to be a follower of Christ, he needed to be a servant to the “poor”. On a trip, he came across a person with leprosy, a disease that one stayed away from. Francis, at first to his displeasure, hugged the individual with leprosy. He was radical in this belief, because for him the Gospel message was to live a simple and self-giving life. His life purpose now was to live in the imitation of Christ: “Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staff.” (Mt 10:9-10) “In the same way, none of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions.” (Lk 14:33) He lived off the funds he received as a beggar. If he did work, he never accepted money: only items to survive. He was joined by others who accepted his charism for living a life of poverty, being an itinerant preacher, helping the sick (especially those with leprosy) and obedience to the hierarchy of the Church. St. Francis said, “The preacher must first draw from secret prayer what he will later pour out in holy sermons, he must first grow hot within before he speaks words that are themselves cold”, and “It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching”. St. Francis and his followers dressed with a brown habit with rope tied around their waist. The rope had three knots which symbolized the three Franciscan vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Francis of Assisi also valued God's creation of nature and had a reverence to it. In 1224, close to the end of his life, he wrote the poem, “The Canticle of the Creatures”. He was neither a philosopher or theologian; but more a mystic and poet who encouraged the imitation of Christ in action and word. He and his followers were never priests. The Franciscans at the time were made up of brothers along with St. Clare (Chiara Offreduccia, 1194-1253) and her sisters, “The Poor Clares”. The order never wanted the temptation of clericalism to enter into their vocational life. In Francis' time, the clergy was heavily influenced and intertwined with the ruling and royal class to the detriment of the church. Francis saw in the Crusades elements of selfishness and a quest for spoils, power and prestige. In Francis' mind, killing of any kind was not of Christ. In his view, if you wanted to end the warring, convert the Muslims. In an attempt to do that, Francis crossed the front lines of battle in Egypt in the 5th Crusade and ask to speak with the Sultan of Egypt, Malek al-Kamil. The Sultan was impressed with Francis. He did not convert him, but they shared a dialogue for about three days. In our current time, Father Francesco Patton, custodian of the Franciscan presence in the Holy Land, states that the meeting between St. Francis and the Sultan became “one of the most important moments in the history of dialogue between Christians and Muslims". Two years before his death Francis received the stigmata on his feet, hands and chest. He kept this hidden until he died in 1226. Pope Francis: With the recent passing of Pope Francis there has been much written and reported on his life. Presented below are articles that give a deeper comparison of St. Francis of Assisi and Pope Francis. Pope Francis embraced a man who deals with neurofibromatosis. We can compare this to St. Francis embrace of the leper and his outreach to those who are sick: Pope Francis hugs Vinico Riva - Vatican News Pope Francis resided in the Domus Sanctae Martha guesthouse instead of the papal apartment of the Apostolic Palace. He simplified the vestments he chose to wear, always carried a black briefcase, had lunches for the poor, visited those in prison, condemned capital punishment, and believed in living peacefully with those of other faiths. He never wore the red shoes that other Popes wore. We can compare this to St. Francis vow of poverty and his dialogue with others. Pope Francis wanted to be a Pope of the people. He encouraged priests to be “shepherds with the ‘smell of the sheep”’: Pope Francis actions for the poor - EWTN Pope Francis and the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb, signed the document “On Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together", in 2019, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We can compare this meeting with the meeting of St. Francis with the Sultan of Egypt, Malek al-Kamil: Pope Francis dialogue and fraternity - CNA The first complete encyclical of Pope Francis was “Laudato si”, which dealt with the issue of climate change and its effect globally, especially on the poor. We can compare this with Saint Francis' praise of all creation: Pope Francis and Global warming - CNN Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon by Saint Francis of Assisi References: Thoman, Bret, O.S.F., "Passion, Poverty, and the Man who transformed the Catholic Church" Wikipedia, Francis of Assisi Wikipedia, Pope Francis