St. Francis of Assisi, after whom Pope Francis has taken his name, captures the spirit of Catholics because he’s the pre-eminent figure in imitating Christ.

Saint Francis of Assisi made many contributions to Christianity. Each year on October 4, many Catholic churches celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

St. Francis’ meditations on the life of Christ led him to create the first-ever Nativity scene in Greccio, Italy, in 1223. Fresco by Giotto of St. Francis of Assisi embracing the Child Jesus at ...

Pope Francis has chosen Giotto’s 14th century fresco of the Nativity in Assisi for his Christmas card this year, accompanied by a verse from Isaiah on its reverse. The 1313 masterpiece, located ...

On Nov. 29, 1979, Pope John Paul II issued a papal bull that declared St. Francis of Assisi the patron of ecology and of those who promote ecology. In the bull, John Paul II wrote, ...

St. Francis of Assisi, also known as "Father Francis," was an Italian religious figure and mystic from the 12th and 13th centuries, revered as the patron saint of animals and ecology.

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI. Share full article. July 15, 1883. Credit... The New York Times Archives. See the article in its original context from July 15, 1883, Page 4 Buy Reprints. View on timesmachine.

Francis's Siblings: Wind, Water, Fire. The pope lost no time in taking up his namesake’s concerns. In his first exhortation to the faithful, delivered in late 2013, he identified some of the ...

Francis of Assisi, nature’s mystic March 20, 2013 A woman touches a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi after a mass held in honor of Pope Francis on Thursday, March 14, 2013 at St. Peter's ...

St. Francis of Assisi, also known as "Father Francis," was an Italian religious figure and mystic from the 12th and 13th centuries, revered as the patron saint of animals and ecology.