St. Francis of Assisi π
Free-spirited St. Francis (1181 β 1226), the renowned founder and Seraphic Father of the Franciscan Order, viewed the natural landscape as a living sanctuary and a direct reflection of the Divine, and he believed all living things shared a single Creator.
His love of creation π, radical freedom & detachment ββοΈ, and deep-seated joy π is exhilarating.
He famously taught his sidekick Brother Leo that true joy is not found in external successes, performing miracles, super intelligence, or converting others. Instead, as recounted in his reflections, perfect joy comes from:
β Patiently enduring cold, hunger, hardship, mistreatment, rejections, or humiliations with peace and love.
β Conquering oneself and sharing humbly in the sufferings of Christ rather than vainly seeking personal glory.
Francis is the primary patron saint of ecology, animals, and nature.
πΊ ποΈ π¦ π π π π π
β’ πΊ Wolf. Represents the famed Wolf of Gubbio, a fierce wolf that he tamed and reconciled with the townspeople.
β’ ποΈ Dove. Represents peace (Pax), the wild turtledoves he rescued from a market and built nests for, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
β’ π¦ Bird. Represents his storied sermon to the birds, where flocks gathered silently to listen to him preach.
β’ π Rabbit. Represents the wild hare at Lake Trasimeno that refused to leave his lap after he freed it from a trap.
β’ π Ewe (Sheep) & π Ram. Represent the lambs he repeatedly rescued from slaughterhouses and his devotion to Jesus the meek Lamb of God.
β’ π Fish. Represents the tench (a freshwater fish) he freed back into Lake Piediluco, which stayed near his boat until he gave it his blessing.
β’ π Dog. Represents the dogs and pets commonly brought to churches on October 4α΅Κ° for the traditional Blessing of the Animals.
The Via di Francesco β the Way of St. Francis β is a long-distance pilgrimage route in central Italy that follows his footsteps π£. It is designed to connect the places where Francis lived, traversed, preached, and experienced key moments in his spiritual life, offering both a spiritual journey and an immersion in Italyβs landscapes and culture.
In the icon below, βPAX OMNIBUS CREATURISβ means Peace to all creatures. βLAUDATO SIβ, MIβ SIGNOREβ = Praise be to You, my Lord.
The Tau cross is a T-shaped symbol shaped like the Greek letter tau or the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet (tav). It holds biblical and spiritual meaning for the Franciscan Order. The Tau is rooted in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 9:4), where the prophet Ezekiel describes God directing an angel to mark the foreheads of the faithful with a βTauβ to protect them from destruction. Francis adopted the Tau as his personal symbol of a crucified life patterned after Christ.
4 pics:
1 - icon
2 - glad in a glade & happy-go-lucky
3
4
