Most High and glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of our hearts
and give us true faith, a certain hope
and a perfect love.
Give us a sense of the divine
and a knowledge of yourself,
so that we may do everything
in fulfilment of your holy will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
~The prayer of St. Francis before the San Damiano crucifix
One of the things I find myself routinely remarking to folks who are not familiar with Saint Francis Ministries and the work we do here is, “no, not the hospital…the other Saint Francis.” Recently, I had a voicemail from the attendance office at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School. They were calling to check up on two students who hadn’t yet shown up for school. Dutifully, I called the school back to explain that they had the wrong number. The lady in the attendance office and I then both marveled, with a rueful chuckle, about how wild it just so happened to be that we were both Saint Francis (Francises…Francii?). What were the chances!?
We know that our founder, Fr. Bob Mize, decided to name the ministry he began in Ellsworth—the first Saint Francis Home for Boys—after St. Francis because he was Fr. Bob’s favorite saint. We also know that Fr. Bob, in his own time and way, sought to model his life on that of the 13th century Italian mystic, friar, and deacon. Like St. Francis, Fr. Bob sought to live a life of simplicity and service to the poor. He made unconditional love, unrelenting forgiveness, and unswerving faith the very foundation of his Saint Francis. This foundation continues to support our work today, 81 years later.
While we are proud of how long we’ve been around as an organization, the Franciscan witness has been around even longer. Born in 1182 to an affluent mercantile family in the Umbrian town of Assisi, St. Francis spent his youth in meaningless revelry and vain attempts at military glory. Encounters with the poor and vulnerable pricked Francis’ conscience, leading to a period of deep disillusionment. Inspired by the Gospel, he embraced a life of extreme poverty in imitation of Jesus Christ. This radical act left his family and friends concerned, confused, and even angry.
Famously, Francis’ commitment to a way of life other than what his prim and prosperous parents had planned lead him to the ruined church of San Damiano. While praying before the church’s crucifix, he heard the voice of Jesus say to him, “Francis, repair my church!” Francis took this call quite literally. Over their objections, he spent some of his family’s fortune to repair the damaged building. His desire to fix what was broken continued after the repairs to San Damiano were made. Soon, Francis understood that Jesus’ words held another, deeper meaning. He was being called to a work of renewal for the soul of the church and not merely its buildings.
The young people of Assisi were astounded by this other Francis, so unlike the one they’d thought they’d known. They were attracted to his devotion to Christ, suddenly seeing in it a path to spiritual renewal. In time, many would join Francis in taking up this other way of life rooted in radical poverty and focused on seeking Christ through serving those in the deepest need. Together they created a distinct form of mendicant community life, the Order of Friars Minor. Francis died in 1226, at age of 44, surrounded by his Franciscan family with whom he’d shared a loving life of poverty and service. Two years later he was canonized as a saint.
In 2026, Franciscans and all those inspired by the life and witness of St. Francis are commemorating the 800th anniversary of his death. Every year, churches around the world remember St. Francis of Assisi on October 4, his feast day. Often those celebrations focus on his embrace of the luminous presence of God throughout all Creation and include blessings for pets and animal companions. Indeed, at SFM we are marking the Feast of St. Francis this year with a Virtual Blessing of the Animals online for our team members and their beloved pets—though no exorcisms!
The garden-statue image of St. Francis can, at times, obscure the truth of who he was and what his legacy means. Nevertheless, the witness of St. Francis shows us that there is another way to live, a viable alternative to the corrosive powers and principalities of the world that diminish the life God desires for us. In his day, Fr. Bob knew this to be true when he took a leap of faith to help the young people in his community that too many were all too eager to cast aside.
Helping children, families, and IDD adults through our programs and services is challenging work, but it is far from hopeless. Like Fr. Bob, we continue to see things in another light. Our founder placed our work under the patronage of one whose own life had been utterly transformed by God’s amazing grace. It continues to be our privilege at Saint Francis Ministries to transform lives and systems through our mission of providing healing and hope.
So, no, we are neither the school nor the church nor the hospital. Yet all of us who share the name of St. Francis of Assisi are blessed by his life and example—and are no doubt proud today to be another Saint Francis.
We wish you a most blessed St. Francis Day!
Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may, for love of you, delight in your whole creation with perfectness of joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
~The Collect for the Feast of St. Francis, Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2024
