Commontide
Proper 21
Liturgical Color: White/Gold
The 17th Sunday after Trinity
O merciful Lord, grant to your faithful people pardon and peace, that we may be cleansed from all our sins and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Most liturgical texts are from the Book of Common Prayer (2019) of the Anglican Church in North America.
The New Coverdale Psalter, © 2019 by the Anglican Church in North America. Used by permission.
Friar and Deacon of Assisi
Ecumenical Commemoration
Francis of Assisi was the merchant's son who gave away everything to follow Christ in poverty, and who founded the Friars Minor, the great order of preaching brothers. The church remembers him as the Poverello, the little poor man, who preached to the birds, tamed the wolf of Gubbio, made the first Christmas crib, and near the end of his life received in his own body the wounds of the crucified Lord. He died in 1226 singing his Canticle of the Sun.
Born Giovanni di Bernardone around 1181 in Assisi, Francis was the son of a prosperous cloth merchant. After a youthful career pursuing knightly ambition, he underwent a dramatic conversion around 1205-1206 following imprisonment during war with Perugia and a series of spiritual encounters, including a vision at San Damiano. He publicly renounced his father's wealth before the bishop of Assisi and embraced radical apostolic poverty.
Francis attracted followers who became the Order of Friars Minor. The Rule of 1223 (Regula Bullata) received papal approval from Honorius III, establishing the order's framework. Francis emphasized itinerant preaching, manual labor, and service to lepers and the poor. In 1219 he traveled to Egypt during the Fifth Crusade and met Sultan al-Kamil, an episode attested by multiple sources including Jacques de Vitry.
In September 1224, during a retreat on Mount La Verna, Francis experienced a vision of a seraph and subsequently bore the stigmata — marks of Christ's wounds on his hands, feet, and side. Thomas of Celano records this within two years of Francis's death, and Brother Leo, Francis's closest companion, was among the witnesses. Francis spent his final years in declining health, composing the Canticle of the Sun and his Testament. He died at the Portiuncula on October 3, 1226, and was canonized by Gregory IX in 1228.
Traditionally, Francis received the stigmata during a vision of a crucified seraph on Mount La Verna in September 1224 — marks of Christ's wounds on his hands, feet, and side that remained until his death. Thomas of Celano reports this within two years, and Brother Leo was among the witnesses. The Fioretti (Little Flowers, 14th century) transmits additional legendary material including the Sermon to the Birds and the Wolf of Gubbio, rooted in earlier attestation of Francis's charismatic relationship with creation but heavily embellished in later retelling.