St. Francis of Assisi; one of the most popular saints of all time. We celebrate his feast day on October 4th. To help you learn a little more about this fascinating saint who was born in the early 1180’s and died in 1226, try your luck with the quiz below:
1. St. Francis of Assisi was a
a) Priest
b) Deacon
c) Lay person
St. Francis of Assisi was not a priest! Surprised? He was of course a lay person in the early years of his life, but sometime later he was ordained a deacon.
2. St. Francis’ birth name was
a) Giovanni
b) Francesco
c) Pietro
St. Francis of Assisi was baptized Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, but his father liked to call him Francesco.
3. St. Francis founded
a) The Order of Friars Minor
b) The Order of St. Clare
c) The Third Order of St. Francis
St. Francis of Assisi started all three of these! The Order of Friars Minor, also known as The Franciscans; the Order of St. Clare, also known as the Poor Clare’s, and the Third Order for the devout of both sexes living in the world (lay people) who wanted to observed the principles of Franciscan life in their daily lives.
4. St. Francis was told to have “cut a deal” with a
a) Bull
b) Wild Boar
c) Wolf
The legend has it that St. Francis saved the people of Gubbio from a wolf that was terrorizing the city. Read more about the story here: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-francis-and-the-taming-of-the-wolf/
5. The popular prayer, Make Me a Channel of Your Peace that is attributed to St. Francis -though there is no proof of him writing it- was sung at whose funeral?
a) John Paul II
b) John F. Kennedy
c) Princess Diana
The prayer has been frequently set to music by notable songwriters and quoted by prominent leaders, and its broadly inclusive language has found appeal with diverse faiths. Yes, it was sung at Princess Diana’s funeral. No- it was not played at the other funerals.
A few more fascinating facts about St. Francis to end with:
- He was one of 7 children
- He was a prisoner of war
- He met St. Dominic
- He created the first live Nativity scene
- He is the first recorded person to receive the stigmata (the wounds of Christ)
- And…St. Francis courageously entered a Muslin army camp and engaged their leader Sultan Malik al-Kamil, who was killing Christians, in peaceful dialogue. The Sultan was taken with Francis’ bravery and steadfast spirit and after listening to Francis preach, sent him back safely and even asked the Saint to pray for him.
St. Francis, pray for us!
Excellent!