Francis of Assisi

1181/1182–1226 · Italian (Assisi, Umbria) · High Middle Ages

Known for: Rich kid who stripped naked in public, gave away everything, talked to birds, and became the world's most beloved saint

Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone — Francis of Assisi — was the son of a wealthy Italian cloth merchant who underwent a radical conversion in his early 20s. He publicly stripped off his fine clothes, renounced his inheritance before the bishop, and embraced a life of total poverty, manual labor, and service to lepers. He founded the Franciscan Order, which grew to thousands of members within his lifetime and became one of the most influential religious orders in history.

He preached to birds, befriended a wolf terrorizing the town of Gubbio, and reportedly received the stigmata (wounds of Christ) on his body — the first recorded case. He wrote the Canticle of the Sun, one of the first great poems in the Italian language. His radical poverty and joy influenced countless reformers and his namesake, Pope Francis, chose the name to signal a return to simplicity.

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