Founder of the Franciscan Order, Francis
was born at Assisi
in Umbria, in 1181 or 1182(the exact year is uncertain) and died there, 3
October, 1226. There is so much written about the life of St. Francis of
Assisi, that to try to give a brief summary of his life would do him an
injustice. Go to www.newadvent.org and type in his name and
you will get an in depth, but brief biography.
Above the icon of St. Francis is an image of the famous San Damiano
cross from which Jesus spoke to Francis to go rebuild His Church. On either
side of the cross is the first and last letters (alpha and omega) of the Greek
alphabet. Jesus used these letters to describe himself as the beginning and end
of all things. Cascading down from
the cross are twenty light blue circles that represent the twenty mysteries off
the rosary, which is a contemplative prayer on the life of Jesus and Mary while
on earth and their glory now in heaven.
The two small birds on either side of Francis reflect the episode in St.
FrancisŐs life where he preached to the birds to glorify their creator.
Below St Francis are images of the sun and the moon, which
partly depict his great canticle of the sun. In between these images is the
shield of the Little Brothers of St. Francis, who are located in Boston and can
located at: www.littlebrothersofstfrancis.org.