You can hear the reasons from Pope Francis himself:
Why the name “Francis”
Reply
Why St Francis of Assisi? Pope:”Francis
Why St Francis of Assisi? Pope:”Francis was “the man of the poor. The man of peace……who wanted a poor church.”
Francis of Assisi
Several days ago I mentioned that there would be lots of things written about Pope Francis and St. Francis of Assisi in the coming days – and that I was impressed that a writer for a news outlet would be daunting enough to try and produce something which included information about St. Francis. It is a complex task (as I hinted) and it is inevitable that things won’t be exactly correct. Even though I did list a short bibliography of recent books about St. Francis, someone contacted me and said that I should not criticize, especially since I had not written anything about St. Francis. So, I sent them the list of my posts – the same one I am posting here. I hope it is helpful, enlightening, and inspiring. Continue reading
Francis of Assisi: Francis and Nature, Part II
People are surprised to learn that the Early Rule of the friars instructed the brothers not to own pets – as well they were not to ride horses. These rules are only partly about poverty; they encouraged friars not to treat animals as objects or possessions. And, in the case of horseback riding, his rule distanced the friars from the proud world of chivalry. Later in his life when sickness compelled him to ride, Francis always preferred a donkey.
In his own writings, Francis does not adopt images from his experience of nature, rather he took those images from Scripture. In the five passages outside the Rules where he mentions animals, only once does he go beyond the imagery from Scripture, and it is to hold up animals as an example of obedience to God. Continue reading
St Francis of Assisi and the 2013 Conclave
John Allen, longtime Vatican reporter: “The real winner of the 2013 conclave was St Francis of Assisi:” http://ow.ly/j0HbM We live in hope!
Francis of Assisi – a portrait in humility
With the election of Pope Francis there seems to be a surge in wanting to know more about St. Francis of Assisi. There certainly is no lack of written material, scholarly, popular, and in between. There is also a lot of marginal material out there. Here is a list of readable and approachable books for the inquiring minds – and no it in no way approaches completeness. Someone suggested that there is a new biography of St. Francis printed every year. I am not sure that is strictly true, but it sure seems like it. Continue reading
Jesuit and Franciscan
Sacred Heart parish here in Tampa has an unusual history. It was established in 1860 (modern by world standards, ancient by West Central Florida standards) with diocesan priests, but was lead by the Jesuits of the New Orleans province from 1888 until 2005. Their missionary, church planting, and pastoral work was pretty amazing. In 2005 they withdrew from the parish and pastoral leadership of the parish passed to the Franciscan friars of Holy Name Province who remain to this day.
As a parishioner pointed out, are we perhaps the only parish who has a statue/altar for St. 
Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis of Assisi – as well as the tradition of both august religious orders? Fun to ponder – but in any case we are proud of our Jesuit roots (Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam – For the greater glory of God) and our Franciscan heritage (Deus Meus et Omnia – My God and my all)
Pope Francis: stories from the first 24 hours
Pope Francis
One of the great things about social media and its use by Cardinals, Bishops, and people from Rome these days, is that we have the chance to become “eye-witnesses” to the first hours and days of Pope Francis. I have seen some wonderful snippets of tweets, blogs, etc. that give me great hope about the possibilities of the man who would walk in the shoes of Peter: holiness in humility.
Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Pete diocese (the first blogging bishop) has a great article which encapsulates many of the stories from the first 24 hours. It is a great read by another church man who strives for holiness in humility.
The ninth oldest pope….
A Jesuit with a Franciscan Name….
Where were you when the white smoke billowed from the Vatican? I was on my way back to the parish when my cell phone kept rapidly beeping as one text after another poured in. Back in the parish office, I learned the Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina had been elected and taken the name Francis – I assumed it was for St. Francis Xavier the great Jesuit missionary and that new evangelization would be the focus of his pontificate. A good choice and a great aim.
