Francis of Assisi was/is the Catholic’s favorite saint and in the book A Mended and Broken Heart written by Wendy Murray, who has written numerous books on Christian topics, as well as articles for Belief Net, portrays Francis’ love of nature and animals and his renunciation of wealth and yet a man of many facets. In his lifetime he was:a poet, a warrior, a knight, a lover, a madman, and a saint.
Wendy Murray reveals a complex man and his extraordinary relationship with his spiritual soul mate, Clare of Assisi.
His full name was Francis di Bernardone and was born in Assisi in Umbria in 1182. His youth was spent aspiring to be like the Arthurian ideology of medieval knighthood. After one day, instead of shunning a leper, which would be the normal thing to do in that society, he embraced him instead. According to history that was the moment that changed Francis for the rest of his life, and became so dedicated to his faith he stole from his father to provide for the repair of the local church. His father took the matter up in court and while on trial he not only gave the money back to the court for the father, but stripped down to nakedness literally giving his father the clothes off his back. After that, Francis dedicated his life to as saintly a life as humanly possible and founded the Franciscan Friars. He was canonized two years after his death in 1226, and Pope Alexander commissioned Bonaventure to write Francis's official biography. After the biography was completed, all other biographies were destroyed.
