Giovanni Francesco Bernardone (Saint Francis) was born in Assisi, Italy to a wealthy merchant father. Francis had an easy and laid back in early life. Later he began a pious life, helped out lepers, and restored old churches. All of Francis' charity made his father angry with him and Francis was disinherited. Francis took all of his nice clothes and threw them away and instead he took a bishop's cloak and for three years took care of lepers in the woods of Mount Subasio. In 1208, while Francis was in Mass he heard a voice tell him to go out into the world and to possess nothing, but do good everywhere (Matthew 10:5-14). After hearing this message he began to preach. He gathered 12 disciples who voted Francis as superior and they called themselves the First Order. Then in 1212, Francis went out on mission work to the Holy Land but became shipwrecked and had to return. Then Francis went to Egypt in 1219 where he successfully preached but couldn't convert the sultan. Francis then went to the Holy Land for more mission work until 1220. When Francis returned home he found that the friars had arguments between the ranks, so he resigned from his position of superiority. Then in September 1224, Francis was praying on Monte Alverno and he felt a pain. This pain was the marks of the crucifixion of Christ (Stigmata). Francis became weak because of the Stigmata and had to be carried back to Assisi where he lost his sight and endured enormous amounts of pain. Francis transformed his life into one that mirrored Christ through his visions, Stigmata, charity, and his suffering of his last days.
             Francis had a vision from God in which a seraph came down to him from heaven. As the seraph flew around between his wings was there was an image of Jesus crucified with his hands and feet stretched out and fixed to the cross. St. Bonaventure said, "Two wings rose above the head, two were stretched forth in flight, and two veiled the whole body." Franci...