The New Student's Reference Work/Francis d' Assisi

Francis d' Assisi (ȧs-sē′zḗ), founder of the Franciscan order and a saint of the Roman Catholic church, was born in 1182. In his early years he was remarkable for his love of gayety; but sickness turned his thoughts from earth, and he at once commenced the practice of the strictest forms of religious discipline. He submitted to humiliations without number. By 1210 he had ii followers, and he then drew up a set of rules for their guidance. The order was approved by Pope Innocent III in 1210, and in 1212 the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli was assigned as their home. At the first general assembly, held in 1219, 5,000 members were present. From the sultan of Egypt Francis obtained for his order the guardianship of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which it still retains. Francis died at Assisi, on Oct. 4, 1226, and was canonized by Gregory IX in 1228. See Mrs. Oliphant's Francis d' Assisi and Sabatier's life of him.