Thinking twice about St. Francis’ life

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the upcoming 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, reflecting on St. Bonaventure’s and G.K. Chesterton’s interpretations of the great saint’s life. I presented Bonaventure’s emphasis on poverty as Francis’ greatest virtue and Chesterton’s stress on his asceticism as complementary stories.

Upon reflection, I don’t think either of these views fully explains the importance of St. Francis – either in his day or for us today. They downplay the impact of Francis’ own pre-conversion life, and they fail to explain why thousands of people rushed to follow him even in his lifetime.

As a young man, Francis lived an ostentatious life, spending wildly and gallivanting with his rich friends. He then fought in a war against another city-state but was taken prisoner and held captive for a year. Francis became ill but once released from prison, resumed his free-spirited life. He went off to fight in another war. This time, a vision led him to see the superficiality of his life, and he began a journey toward an intense relationship with Jesus.

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Of course, Francis’ story has much more detail. However, this should be enough to show that his call to follow Jesus involved rebelling against the violence of war and the meaninglessness of a life devoted to wealth and pleasure. He chose the path of downward mobility.

The so-called Prayer of St. Francis begins with the invocation, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” One can debate how much the remainder of this 20th-century prayer truly reflects the spirit of Francis. Yet the saint clearly desired peace, not only in our hearts but in the world around him. Plus, he knew how achieve peace.

Francis’s genius lay in his insight into how violence and the pursuit of wealth are intertwined. War grows out of the desire of the wealthy to protect their possessions and secure even more wealth for themselves. To the extent that is true, there is no such thing as a just war.

Don’t think that most of us are not rich. By the standards of global history and the world today, anyone who has a house with central heating, three square meals a day, a pension plan, a motorized vehicle, etc., is one of the wealthiest people ever. Moreover, it is extremely difficult to opt out of that system. 

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Yet Francis understood that following Jesus means relinquishing any claim to power, status and wealth. Such vulnerability is the only sure path to peace and nonviolence.

Francis was not a political actor. He responded to Jesus’ call to build God’s kingdom. It just so happened that the way Francis understood that call and Jesus’ life stood in sharp contrast to the power of the rising bourgeoisie, of which his own father was a member. Of course, Jesus’ life and teachings witnessed to a very different kind of reign than the one that began to arise in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Francis touched a chord that resonated across society. By his death, thousands were following in his footsteps.

It is also of interest that St. Thomas Aquinas – born the year before Francis died – argued that property should not be private but social in its orientation and use, a view in line with that of Francis. The goal of possessing material things should be to make them available to those most in need.

This view is found in contemporary Catholic social teaching as the principle of the universal destination of all goods – God gave the earth to the whole human race for the sustenance of its members, without excluding or favouring anyone.

The founder of the Franciscans did not write learned treatises. He was even opposed to his followers reading and writing books. What he offered was the witness of a life of poverty and peacemaking. 

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The “political” virtue Francis offers us today is humility. “Humility” here does not mean that political leaders should shun the limelight. Rather, it means that a crucial part of building a good society is prioritizing the needs of those excluded from society’s benefits over the desires of those who already have a lot. Extravagant wealth serves no one, and it leads to domination and preparations for violence.

Peacemaking begins with prayerful contemplation, leads to a simple lifestyle, protects the natural environment and seeks harmony with our neighbours. God comes first, our neighbour second and myself third. This is Francis’ legacy, one true to the Gospel he strove to incarnate in his life.

(Argan is a Catholic Register columnist and former editor of the Western Catholic Reporter. He writes his online column Epiphany.)

A version of this article appeared in the October 04, 2026 issue of The Catholic Register with the headline "Thinking twice about St. Francis’ life".