In this classic, Felix Timmermans reveals a deep understanding and penetrating interpretation of the man Francis and the ideals that enabled him to move and to shake the whole world. Filled with humor, pathos and a strange kind of beauty, it is a combination of artistry, poetry and simplicity that plumbs the soul of Saint Francis.

Here is the whole Francis, the poet, the ascetic, the stigmatist, the servant of the poor and the lepers, the miracle worker. But above all, here is the spirit of St. Francis “told as lyrically and simply as the hymns and words of Francis himself in a book that communicates the joy of St. Francis.”

“A perfect joy of a book!”
– Books on Trial

“One of the classic lives of St. Francis. I recall being deeply moved and encouraged in my own vocation by reading this book decades ago. Congratulations to Ignatius Press for making it available to readers today.”
– Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, Author, Arise from Darkness