The Life of St. Francis of Assisi

"Francis, go and build up my house, which as thou seest, is falling into ruin" To fulfill this command of Our Lord, St. Francis of Assisi (c. 1181-1226) began by restoring physical churches and continued by building up the spiritual Church. Francis' humility, purity, and true joy inspired many men and women to conversion and a deeper faith. Others joined with him in serving God and the poor; thus began the Franciscan Order.

Never ordained to the priesthood, St. Francis nonetheless was a preacher of great renown and a miracle-worker of the first order-curing, prophesying, casting out devils, turning water into wine, and raising people form the dead. Indeed, though not arranged in typical biographical form, The Life of St. Francis of Assisi by St. Bonaventure conveys a picture of the saint through his miracles, his sayings, and his holy life that renders an indelible impression of a man totally transformed in God and by God.

Legend states that when very young, this Saint was cured of an illness through the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi, who gave him his name, "O bona ventura" - "O good fortune. " St. Bonaventure's life was so pure that it was said that he seemed not to have inherited Original Sin. He became a Franciscan, served as Minister General, and is considered the Order's second founder. He worked to systematize Augustinian theology, was the advisor of St. Louis, King of France, and received the doctorate in theology along with St. Thomas Aquinas is 1257. Though he tried to avoid it, he was eventually made a Cardinal. St. Bonaventure died while attending the Council of Lyons, where he played an important role in reuniting the Eastern churches with Rome. He wrote many treatises, biblical commentaries, and sermons, and the official Franciscan biography of St. Francis of Assisi. He is known as the "Seraphic Doctor".