San Francisco was born in 1181 to a prosperous Italian merchant family. After a very brief career as a soldier Francis experienced a great conversion and dedicated his life to penance, poverty, and the passion of Christ. He founded the Order of Friars Minor, commonly known as the Franciscans, which spread throughout Europe. Francis was the first known saint to experience the stigmata, the signs of the wounds of Christ. He led a life of extreme privation all the while praising God in His wondrous creation.
