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Franciscan - The beginning of the brotherhood

Franciscan - The beginning of the brotherhood: Encyclopedia II - Franciscan - The beginning of the brotherhood

A sermon which Francis heard in 1209 on Matt. x. 9 made such an impression on him that he decided to devote himself wholly to a life of apostolic poverty. Clad in a rough garment, barefoot, and, after the Evangelical precept, without staff or scrip, he began to preach repentance. He was soon joined by a prominent fellow townsman, Bernardo di Quintavalle, who contributed all that he had to the work, and by other companions, who are said to have reached the number of eleven within a year. The brothers lived in the deserted lazar-house o ...

Franciscan, Franciscan - The beginning of the brotherhood, Franciscan - Work and extension of the brotherhood, Franciscan - The last years of Francis, Franciscan - The three rules of the order and the testament of Saint Francis, Franciscan - The first rule, Franciscan - The rule of 1221, Franciscan - The later rule, Franciscan - The Testament, Franciscan - Development of the order after the death of Francis, Franciscan - Dissentions during the life of Francis, Franciscan - Development to 1239. The laxer party, Franciscan - To 1274. Bonaventure, Franciscan - To 1300. Continued dissensions, Franciscan - Temporary success of the stricter party. Persecution, Franciscan - Renewed controversy on the question of poverty, Franciscan - Separate congregations, Franciscan - Unsuccessful attempts to unite the order, Franciscan - Spread of the order in modern times, Franciscan - Distinguished names, Franciscan - The Clarisses or Poor Clares, Franciscan - The third order, Franciscan - Origin and rule, Franciscan - Books

Franciscan, Franciscan - Books, Franciscan - Development of the order after the death of Francis, Franciscan - Development to 1239. The laxer party, Franciscan - Dissentions during the life of Francis, Franciscan - Distinguished names, Franciscan - Origin and rule, Franciscan - Renewed controversy on the question of poverty, Franciscan - Separate congregations, Franciscan - Spread of the order in modern times, Franciscan - Temporary success of the stricter party. Persecution, Franciscan - The Clarisses or Poor Clares, Franciscan - The Testament, Franciscan - The beginning of the brotherhood, Franciscan - The first rule, Franciscan - The last years of Francis, Franciscan - The later rule, Franciscan - The rule of 1221, Franciscan - The third order, Franciscan - The three rules of the order and the testament of Saint Francis, Franciscan - To 1274. Bonaventure, Franciscan - To 1300. Continued dissensions, Franciscan - Unsuccessful attempts to unite the order, Franciscan - Work and extension of the brotherhood

Franciscan: Encyclopedia II - Franciscan - The beginning of the brotherhood

Franciscan - The beginning of the brotherhood

He was soon joined by a prominent fellow townsman, Bernardo di Quintavalle, who contributed all that he had to the work, and by other companions, who are said to have reached the number of eleven within a year. The brothers lived in the deserted lazar-house of Rivo Torto near Assisi; but they spent much of their time traveling through the mountainous districts of Umbria, always cheerful and full of songs, yet making a deep impression on their hearers by their earnest exhortations. Their life was extremely ascetic, though such practises were apparently not prescribed by the first rule which Francis gave them (probably as early as 1209), which seems to have been nothing more than a collection of Scriptural passages emphasizing the duty of poverty.

In spite of the obvious similarity between this principle and the fundamental ideas of the followers of Peter Waldo, the brotherhood of Assisi succeeded in gaining the approval of Pope Innocent III. What seems to have impressed first the Bishop of Assisi, Guido, then Cardinal John of St. Paul and finally Innocent himself, was their utter loyalty to the Church and her clergy. Innocent probably saw in them a possible answer to his desire for an orthodox preaching force to counter heresy. Many legends have clustered around the decisive audience of Francis with the Pope. The realistic account in Matthew Paris, according to which the Pope originally sent the shabby saint off to keep swine, and only recognized his real worth by his ready obedience, has, in spite of its improbability, a certain historical interest, since it shows the natural antipathy of the older Benedictine monasticism to the plebeian mendicant orders.

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