Topic Research: Saint Francis

I've decided to do my storybook project on Saint Francis! I want to focus on retelling stories about his life from the perspectives of other characters. I may name my project "Visions of Saint Francis" or "Encounters with Saint Francis."

The first story I found is from The Little Flowers of St. Francis, translated by W. Heywood on the Sacred Texts website. It recounts how a young boy, just accepted as a monk into the Order, was living with Francis and other friars. One night, the boy arose in the middle of the night and couldn't find Saint Francis. The boy went looking for him and then witnessed "Christ and the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist and the Evangelist and a very great multitude of angels who spake with St. Francis." I would love to retell this story from the perspective of the boy, going into further detail about what he saw that night. The conversation between Francis and the divine is fascinating material.

The second story I want to work with is Saint Francis and Brother Wolf. This story is from the Saints and Animals unit in the UN-Textbook. I want to retell what happened from the perspective of the wolf and explain how exactly Francis was able to tame the wolf and create peace in the town of Gubbio. I love the transformation of the wolf in this story and how the narrative shows Francis helping a community in need.

Finally, I want to retell another story from The Little Flowers of St. Francis on Sacred Texts, this one about Francis and Friar Masseo. Friar Masseo is asked to perform a seemingly childish, silly task by Francis, and later that day Masseo has both skepticism and praise in his heart for Francis. God then reveals to Francis exactly what Masseo was thinking! I love the potential to explore Masseo's views of Saint Francis from a 1st person point of view.

The Wikipedia page on Saint Francis could also serve as a helpful resource for history, context, and additional stories when creating my storybook.

Another great story possibility, also from The Little Flowers of St. Francis on Sacred Texts, tells of Francis freeing a friar who had been descended upon by a demon. This story is short and pretty wide open, so I could easily take it into creative detail. Like the other stories, I would retell it from the perspective of the friar who encounters Francis.

I love this image of Saint Francis casting out demons in Arezzo! Possibly near the OU study

center there?? Giotto di Bondone is the artist here, source: Wikimedia