The Impact Of St. Francis Of Assisi

This historical study will define the impact of St. Francis of Assisi on Italian cultural identity in the rejuvenation of the Roman Catholic Church in the medieval period. In the late 12th and 13th centuries, St. Francis of Assisi was a religious figure that chose to live a life of poverty and self-sacrifice in the image of Jesus Christ. During this historical period, the Roman Catholic Church had become an ostentatious and well-funded organization that did not embrace the common people of Italy. This form of superficial form of Christianity that St. Francis rejuvenated by embracing poverty and serving the community. This form of religious practice constructed a powerful Italian sense of identity that St. Francis represented during a time of …show more content…
Francis of Assisi provided a rejuvenation of Roman Catholic identity in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The letters of St. Francis of Assisi reveal the rejuvenation of the Roman Catholic Church through a commitment to the common people and the poor. St. Francis lived in a time when the Roman Catholic clergy had become a stagnant and superficial organization, which did not connect with the common people/peasantry. In the letters of St. Francis, he defines the necessity of a living religious experience through Christ, which would mimic the community-based religious values of Christianity. This is one important reason why St. Francis felt a deep affinity for Christ’s love for the common people, which served as a “rule” for the nobility to follow in terms of local governance. In “The Rulers of the People”, St. Francis defined a new way of embracing the peasant classes as a form of Christian compassion for the rulers of Italy to follow in their own …show more content…
Francis has become the “Patron Saint of Italy” because of the important service that he brought to the most impoverished members of medieval society. St. Francis was known to wear a brown frock/habit that was torn and ragged. This appearance symbolized the life of poverty that St. Francis chose to live by embracing poverty amongst the peasant classes. This iconic image has become part of Italian national identity, especially in the way that sculptor’s, such as Giuseppe Tonnini created for the Roman Catholic Church in 1927. This sculpture is positioned at the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, which faces the Cathedral of Rome. The iconic image of St. Francis as the patron Saint of Italy is part of this artistic representation of history, which emulates the poverty that he endured with his followers. This part of the rejuvenation of the Roman Catholic Church helped to encourage many members of the peasant classes to find salvation in the Roman Catholic Church. St. Francis inspired many followers to joining the Church through the commitment to poverty as founded in the Franciscan Order. In this historical context, the modern interpretation of St. Francis provides an iconic vision of the patron saint, yet it also divulges the massive impact that St. Francis had on bringing more followers from the lower classes into the Christian faith. This is an important part of St. Francis’ role as a major figure in Italian history, since he had committed himself to