St. Francis of Assisi: The Rich Kid Who Gave Everything Away
He had money, parties, and the finest clothes in town. He traded it all for a patched robe and became the happiest man in Italy.
The Party King of Assisi
Francis was born in Assisi, Italy, in 1182. His father was a wealthy cloth merchant who loved France, so he nicknamed his son Francesco: the little Frenchman.
Francis wore the best clothes, threw the best parties, and dreamed of becoming a famous knight. He had everything a boy in Assisi could want. He still kept wanting one more thing.
Outside the town walls lived a sick man everyone was afraid of, and Francis was afraid too. Whenever he saw him on the road, he turned his horse around.
One day he didn't. He climbed down, pressed a coin into the man's hand, and held on. Near the end of his life, Francis wrote that this was where everything began.
Giving It All Back
Not long after, praying in a crumbling little church called San Damiano, Francis heard Jesus speak from the painted cross: Francis, go and repair my house, which, as you see, is falling into ruin.
Francis looked at the cracked walls and took it literally. He sold some of his father's cloth to pay for the repairs. His father was hurt and furious, and he brought Francis before the bishop and the whole town to get his money back.
Francis gave back the money. Then he gave back everything else his father had ever given him, right down to his clothes. From now on, he said, my Father is in heaven. The bishop wrapped him in his own cloak.
He walked away owning nothing. And here's the surprising part: he was happier than he had ever been.
All the Riches He Needed
Francis begged for stones, one at a time, and rebuilt San Damiano with his own hands. Other young men saw how happy he was with nothing and gave up everything to join him. In 1209 the Pope blessed their little band, and the Franciscans are still all over the world today.
In 1223, in the village of Greccio, he set up the very first Nativity scene, with a real manger, a real ox, and a real donkey, so people could see Christmas with their own eyes. Every Nativity set under every Christmas tree started there.
The next year his friend Brother Leo was struggling, and Francis wrote him a prayer by hand on a scrap of parchment. Leo carried it with him for the rest of his life, and it's still in Assisi today. One line holds everything Francis learned: You are all the riches we need.
In 1225 he wrote a song praising God for Brother Sun and Sister Moon, and people still sing it. He died on October 3, 1226, while his brothers sang it for him, and two years later he was declared a saint.
Fun Facts
- He sang God's praises in French when he was happy
- He never became a priest. He was a deacon and chose to stay one.
- He greeted everyone he met the same way: The Lord give you peace.
- He's a patron saint of Italy, alongside St. Catherine of Siena
- His feast day is October 4. He died on October 3, 1226, so 2026 marks 800 years.
Questions families ask
What is St. Francis of Assisi known for?
Giving everything up for God. Francis was the son of a rich cloth merchant, and he handed it all back to follow Jesus with nothing of his own. He rebuilt broken-down churches by hand, founded the Franciscans, set up the first Nativity scene in 1223, and wrote the Canticle of the Sun. He told God, in a prayer he wrote for a friend, that God was all the riches anyone needs, and he lived like he meant it.
Why is St. Francis the patron saint of animals?
Because he called everything God made his brother or his sister, and stories of him preaching to the birds spread far and wide. In 1979 Pope St. John Paul II named him the patron saint of ecology. But animals were never the center of his life. In the Testament he wrote near the end, he doesn't mention a single one. He wrote about the sick man on the road, the churches he rebuilt, the brothers God gave him, and living with nothing but God.
When is St. Francis of Assisi's feast day?
October 4. Francis died on the evening of October 3, 1226, at the little Portiuncula chapel below Assisi, and his feast is kept the next day. He was declared a saint in 1228, just two years after he died.
Want your child to get a letter from St. Francis? Letters from Heaven sends a hand-illustrated letter, prayer card, sticker, and saint zine to your mailbox every month.
Subscribe