On October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi is celebrated, patron of Italy and ‘brother’ of animals. Son of a merchant belonging to the small city nobility, Francesco after the divine call, abandons his life lying to begin a made of penance and solitude in total poverty.
The guiding thread of his existence was the love for nature declined in all its forms, not surprisingly St. Francis called brother the sun and sister the moon, for him all the animals deserved respect and his canticle of the creatures begins with a praise: Laudato sie, mi sir cum tucte your creatures.
And then the said wolf lives two years in Agobbio; And they entered the houses in the Uscio in Uscio, without hurting the person and without being done to him; and was kindly nourished by the people; And thus going to the earth and for the houses, Giammai Niun Dog barking him behind. (Fioretti, Cap. XXI).
Francesco lived a life in harmony and in respect of every living being and for us it remains an example to follow. Here are five legends that revolve around the Franciscan friar and showing its close relationship with animals.
The most significant parables
St. Francis and the Agnelli
An episode narrated by Tommaso da Celano says that one day Francesco and one of his partner came across a man who carried two lambs on his shoulders, to sell them to the market. Francesco, taken by Pietà , knowing that the animals would be sold and eaten, gave man his cloak by bartering it with the two lambs.
St. Francis and fish
It is said that when Francesco saw fishermen who had made a hearty day of work, he asked them to reject the fish in the water. One day, a fisherman seeing the man pass, he stopped him giving him a barely caught dye. Francesco accepted the gift, but immediately rejected the animal in the water singing the praises of God. The legend says that the fish did not go away, but remained near the saint to play.
St. Francis and the ducks
In the Franciscan tales, it is told of a miracle that took place in Lugnano in Tavernina. One day St. Francis saw a wolf attacking a woman to snatch his baby. The saint asked the ducks to chase the wolf, they joined him by bringing the baby back to his mother.
St. Francis and the birds
As he went to Bevagna with other friars, St. Francis entered a field to preach the birds. Legend has it that they gathered around him listening to his words.
My brothers, you have to be very gratitude to God creator, because he gave you the great gift of flying in the air. You do not sown, do not reap you, yet God nourishes you and gives you rivers and fountains to drink. You don’t know how to go and weave, yet God wears you and your children with the softer and graceful of the dresses of pens and feathers.
St. Francis and the larks
Also to 4 October, the day of the saint’s death, a legend is linked. It is said, in fact, that Francesco before dying began to sing the song of the creatures once and suddenly the larks – who usually sing in the morning, while at that moment it was dark – accompanied him with their sound, making him company until the end.
