The Italian mystic St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) founded the religious order known as the Franciscans. He became renowned for his love, simplicity, and practice of poverty.

Because his father called him Francis, so did everyone else, although he was given the name Giovanni when he was baptized shortly after his birth in the town of Assisi in central Italy in 1182. His father, Pietro di Bernardone, was a successful cloth merchant, and Francis grew up with a love of fine clothes and good times. He led the other young men of the town in enjoying good food and drink, singing, and dancing.

When Francis was 20, he was taken prisoner in a war between Assisi and Perugia. A year later, sobered by jail and sickness, he underwent several religious experiences in quick succession. In one of these, while he was praying in the decrepit chapel of S. Damiano outside...