St. Francis of Assisi
He had everything a boy could want. He gave it all away and found that God was enough.
Francis grew up rich in Assisi, Italy. His father sold fine cloth, and Francis wore the brightest clothes in town, threw the best parties, and dreamed of becoming a knight. He had everything a boy could want, and he still kept wanting one more thing.
Then God started changing his heart. A sick man lived outside the town walls, and everyone was afraid of him, Francis too. One day, instead of riding away, Francis got down off his horse, put a coin in the man's hand, and held it. Not long after, praying in a crumbling little church called San Damiano, he heard Jesus speak from the cross: Francis, go and repair my house.
So he gave it all away. In front of the whole town he handed his father back everything he had ever given him, and the bishop wrapped Francis in his own cloak. He begged for stones and rebuilt the church with his own hands. Other men came to live the same way, and in 1209 the Pope blessed them: the first Franciscans. Francis owned nothing for the rest of his life, and he was happier than he had ever been at any party. Years later he wrote a prayer by hand for his friend Brother Leo that says it all: You are all the riches we need.
The October envelope
October's letter comes from St. Francis himself, telling the little ones about the night God stopped him in the middle of the street, the day he gave everything away, and the one thing he learned with nothing left: God is enough.
- A hand-drawn letter from St. Francis
- A collectible prayer card, pencil art on the front, a hand-lettered prayer on the back
- A St. Francis sticker
- An 8-page hand-illustrated zine
St. Francis of Assisi facts for kids
- He was baptized John. His father loved France, so he called him Francesco, the little Frenchman
- The prayer he wrote by hand for Brother Leo still exists. It's kept in Assisi, 800 years later
- He built the first Nativity scene, at Greccio in 1223, with a real ox and donkey
- He wrote a song praising God for Brother Sun and Sister Moon, and people still sing it
Feast day: October 4 · Patron of Italy and the care of creation
A different saint writes to your little one every month. Letters from Heaven mails a hand-illustrated letter, prayer card, sticker, and zine, straight to your mailbox.
Start the letters