Who is patron saint of animals

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Google Tag Manager. Francis: Patron saint of animals - and activism? October 4, By Stephen H. Padre Today on the liturgical calendar is the Feast of St. Stephen H. By his dress and equipment, his captors knew Francis was from a wealthy family and was worth a ransom, so they let him live.

A year later his ransom was paid; in the interim, as he later reported, he began receiving visions from God. After returning home, he came across a leper in the country. Instead of ignoring him, Francis, changed by his experience as a captive, embraced and kissed the man and was filled with sensations of sweetness and joy. Francis became convinced that God wanted him to help poor people, so he abandoned his possessions.

Despite his vow of poverty, Francis needed money to rebuild the church, so he sold some of his father's cloth and a horse. His father took him before the local bishop, who told Francis to return his father's money. Francis stripped off his clothes and gave them and the money to his father, saying God was now his father. This event is credited as Francis' final conversion.

The bishop gave Francis a rough tunic and, dressed in these humble clothes, he began his work. Francis prayed that God would perform miracles through him. Once he washed a leper and prayed for a tormenting demon to leave his soul. As the man healed, he felt remorse and reconciled with God. Another time, three robbers stole food and drink from Francis' community.

He prayed for them and sent a friar to give them bread and wine. Moved by Francis' actions, the robbers joined his order and spent their lives giving instead of taking from people. Francis saw animals as his brothers and sisters and prayed that God would work through him to help them. Birds sometimes gathered while Francis spoke and listened to him.

Francis began preaching to them about the ways that God had blessed them. When Francis lived in Gubbio, in the province of Perugia, a wolf was attacking people and other animals. First, his hometown of Assisi went to war against another Italian city, during which Francis was captured and imprisoned in a dungeon. Deprived of luxury and privilege for about a year, he quickly resumed his former life of excess and indulgence as the son of a wealthy family after his release.

Roughly a year later, in , while traveling to a second military battlefront, Francis experienced a spiritual vision that fundamentally changed him and altered his life. Not only did this revelation show him the futility of his current lifestyle and ambitions, but it also instructed him to return home immediately.

Obeying the vision, Francis ultimately renounced all his worldly goods in order to devote his life to God , the Christian Church, and the lessons of the Gospels in the Bible so he could follow the example of Jesus as closely as possible.

After spending the rest of his life in poverty while spreading the Christian doctrine, Francis eventually grew ill and died in at the age of The first recounts how he stopped a man-eating wolf from terrorizing residents of a town near Assisi by preaching to it using the power of his voice. For these reasons, among others, St. Francis of Assisi became the Catholic patron saint of pets and animals. There are also countless articles and books written about Francis and Franciscan ecology.

His email address is broewe ncronline. Follow him on Twitter: BrianRoewe. Why is Francis of Assisi the patron saint of ecology? Oct 2, This article appears in the Burning Questions feature series. View the full series. For Catholics, Oct. Francis of Assisi. But beyond pets, Francis is also known as the patron saint of ecology.

What does that mean? Who made that decision? And why? It's the subject of our latest Burning Question here at EarthBeat. Let's get to it. So who was Francis of Assisi? There's so much to say, so we'll just hit the highlights here. Francis of Assisi is seen from the Rocca Maggiore, a fortress on top of the hill above the town of Assisi, Italy. Francis died in October Less than two years later, he was canonized a saint.

When was he named the patron saint of ecology? Not that long ago, as it turns out. Back up a second. What does it mean to be a patron saint of something? Isidore, patron saint of farmers. Elizabeth of Hungary, patron saint of bakers. Teresa of Avila, patron saint of headaches.

Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists. So why was Francis of Assisi made the patron saint of ecology?