St. Francis of Assisi, seemed to be destined to becoming a wealthy merchant himself until he experienced a series of life transforming events which would reshape his destiny and his life. In an early yourhful encounter, St. Francis caught up in his own self ambition encounters a beggar which he doesn't have time to bother with and so promptly dismissed him out of hand. Shortly thereafter Francis is troubled by his own conscience and his early philosophy of "Openhearted Compassion for the Poor" continues to develop at this point. This single event most likely had the greatest impact on the heart and mind of St. Francis as it initiates a genesis of his own personal calling to serve God by serving the needs of the most distressed of humankind. So intense became the fervor of St. Francis to follow Christ that St. Francis began long periods of fasting and giving all of his material posessions away at the sight of anyone less fortunate than he.

When St. Francis comes upon an old church broken and in ruins on the outskirts of his own hometown he encouters a divine vision in which he hears God command him to rebuild the old church. Francis is so driven by the vision that he sells whatever remaining material goods he owns along with some of his own father's personal property to generate the needed rebuilding revenues for the supplies and reconstruction project which he sucessfully accomplishes.

The Love that defined the life of St. Francis continued to grow as he himself evolved in discerning the difference between genuine divine guidance and his own fervent need to bring all of his inner strength to bear on his devotion to the service of Christ. Over his rather short life St. Francis truly became transormed into the image of Christ even displaying the wounds of Christ known as stigmata. St. Francis saw the calling of God in the lepers and the crippled and he served to heal them. He heard God calling in the homeless and destitute and so keeping the Love of God in his heart, became one of them. St. Francis beheld the vision of a crumbeling abandoned church and was likewise inspired to rebuild it stone by stone from the ground up. St. Francis lived an exemplory life of single minded devotion and so inspired those who were in turn led to follow his example leading all the way up to the current day where he continues to be an example of "A Life lived on Purpose".

Saint Francis' final years were filled with suffering as he himself desired and prayed to share personally in living a life pleasing to God. His many years of wandering in devotional service and poverty finally caught up with him and as he became ill and began to go blind, he composed the beautiful final tribute to the divine in his "Canticle of the Sun" which expresses his kinship with all creation in praising God.

Saint Francis died on October 4, 1226 at 45 years of age. St. Francis is considered to be the founder of all Franciscan orders worldwide and the Patron Saint of Animals and Ecology. His celebratory Feast Day is held on October 4th.