The encounter of St. Francis of Assisi and a leper is an oft-cited account in the life of the saint. As we mentioned several weeks ago there are five sources in which one can read the account. English versions of the sources are available online. The sources are

• The Life of St. Francis of Assisi by Thomas of Celano (1C – written 1228-1229),
• The Life of St. Francis of Assisi by Julian of Speyer (LJS – written 1232-1235; dependent on 1C),
• The Legend of the Three Companions (LC3 – a compilation of oral stories from three early companions of Francis started in 1244; thought to be original materials plus dependency on 1C and another text, The Anonymous of Perugia)
• The Remembrance of the Desire of a Soul (2C written by Thomas of Celano 1245-1247)
• The Major Legend by St. Bonaventure (LM – written 1260-1263)

In last week’s edition we looked, in some detail, at the “first life” by Thomas of Celano. This week, we can try to summarize the other accounts in a more concise manner. Continue reading →