Francis of Assisi

As an outstanding and impressive figure in the history of Christianity, Francesco, Saint Francis of Assisi, emerged at the turn of the 12th to the 13th century. Undoubtedly, he remains among those who are known and appreciated for their spiritual significance even outside of church contexts. As a person of both divine and human love, he, the enthusiastic lover of "Lady Poverty" (Donna povertá), the Poverello, and poet of the "Canticle of the Sun," expressed a model relationship with the elements of the earth and all creatures. Thus, he is regarded by countless people as one of the most beloved, as Rilke says: "the most intimate and loving of all," the most human and therefore the most credible of saints.