St. Francis of Assisi lived a pretty wild life.
Not “wild” in the way his younger self imagined, before he went all in for God.
But once he did, things sure got interesting.
So in honor of his feast day, here are a few of our favorite stories.
He Shook Hands With a Killer Wolf
A wolf was terrorizing the town of Gubbio, Italy, killing animals and even people. The townspeople were afraid to leave the city.
So Francis went out to meet the wolf.
The wolf charged at him, but Francis made the Sign of the Cross and addressed it as “Brother Wolf.”
Then he proposed a deal: If the wolf would stop attacking the townspeople, they would provide food for it.
According to one source, the wolf put its paw into Francis’s hand as a sign of the agreement.
And the wolf lived peacefully with the townspeople for the rest of its life.
He Stripped in Public
Francis’s father, Pietro di Bernardone, was furious with his son for giving away his money and living like the poor.
So he dragged Francis before the local bishop and demanded that Francis return his property.
Francis responded by taking off all his clothes and returning them to Pietro.
Then he declared that God was his Father now.
The bishop covered Francis with his cloak, and Francis walked away singing into the woods.
He Preached to a Flock of Birds
One day, Francis encountered a flock of birds and began preaching to them as “my brothers and sisters.”
He exhorted them to praise their creator for giving them wings, air, food and shelter.
The birds didn’t fly away. In fact, they seemed mesmerized. They stretched their necks and watched him attentively, even as he moved among them.
Finally, Francis blessed them and gave them permission to leave.
He Outsmarted a Sultan
Later in life, Francis traveled to Muslim territory to meet the sultan al-Malik al-Kamil.
The sultan had a little trick waiting.
He laid out a carpet covered in crosses between the door and his throne. In order to approach the sultan, Francis would have to step on the crosses.
The sultan thought, “If he walks on the carpet, I’ll accuse him of insulting his god. If he refuses to walk on it, I’ll accuse him of insulting me.”
What did Francis do?
He entered and walked right across the carpet.
When the sultan called him out, Francis explained there were three crosses at Calvary: one for Christ, and two for the thieves.
Christians venerate the cross of Christ, he said.
And the others? Those were for the sultan, so Francis had no problem walking on them.
Talk about a quick wit.
He Built Himself a Snow Family
Francis had a rather hands-on approach to spiritual warfare.
One winter night, he felt a strong temptation to lust. So he stripped, went outside and rolled around in the snow.
When that didn’t help, he started building snow people. He made seven of them, representing a woman, children and household servants.
He said to himself, “Look, this is your wife and children. You’d better hurry up and clothe them, because they’re dying of cold.”
Sounds crazy, but it worked. When he took his attention off himself, the lust went away.
How to Make Sense of St. Francis
Here’s the thing: Francis never tried to be weird.
He just refused to keep his faith in a tidy little box. He took the Gospel seriously.
Once you see Francis that way, all the stories make a little more sense.
Well… most of them.
St. Francis of Assissi, pray for us!
