St Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi, O.F.M. Co-patron of Italy, founder of the Seraphic Order
The Stigmata of Saint Francis by Bartolomeo della Gatta, tempera on wood circa 1487
Religious, deacon, confessor stigmatist and religious founder
Born	Giovanni di Bernardone 1181 or 1182 Assisi, Duchy of Spoleto, Holy Roman Empire
Died	3 October 1226 (aged 44 or 45 years old) Assisi, Umbria, Papal States
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Anglican Communion Lutheran Church Old Catholic Church
Canonized	16 July 1228, Assisi, Italy by Pope Gregory IX
Major shrine	Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi
Feast	4 October
Attributes	Tau cross, dove, birds, animals, wolf at feet, Pax et Bonum, Poor Franciscan habit, stigmata
Patronage	animals; the environment; Italy; merchants; stowaways;Cub Scouts; San Francisco, California, Naga City, Cebu, tapestry workers

Saint Francis of Assisi (Italian: San Francesco d'Assisi), born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, informally named as Francesco (1181/1182 – 3 October 1226), was an Italian Roman Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Order of Friars Minor, the women’s Order of Saint Clare, the Third Order of Saint Francis and the Custody of the Holy Land. Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in history.

Pope Gregory IX canonized Francis on 16 July 1228. Along with Saint Catherine of Siena, he was designated Patron saint of Italy. He later became associated with patronage of animals and the natural environment, and it became customary for Catholic and Anglican churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of 4 October.

In 1219, he went to Egypt in an attempt to convert the Sultan to put an end to the conflict of the Crusades. By this point, the Franciscan Order had grown to such an extent that its primitive organizational structure was no longer sufficient. He returned to Italy to organize the Order. Once his community was authorized by the Pope, he withdrew increasingly from external affairs. Francis is also known for his love of the Eucharist. In 1223, Francis arranged for the first Christmas live nativity scene. According to Christian tradition, in 1224 he received the stigmata during the apparition of Seraphic angels in a religious ecstasy making him the first recorded person in Christian history to bear the wounds of Christ's Passion. He died during the evening hours of 3 October 1226, while listening to a reading he had requested of Psalm 142 (141).