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Animal Rights History Timeline » [c485-1450] Medieval Ages » Saint Francis Assisi

Saint Francis Assisi

Roger of Wendover, Flores Historiarum

The Preaching of Francis and the Remarkable End of His Life

[1225-1235] Roger of Wendover, "The Preaching of Preaching of Francis and the Remarkable End of His Life," in Flores Historiarum reprinted in Francis of Assisi, Early Documents: The Saint (New York, New City Press: 1999; Google Books: Online Library of Free eBooks: Online Preview).

Francis thus devoutly fulfilled the office of preaching throughout the whole of Italy and other nations, and especially in the city of Rome. But the Roman people, who are hostile to all that is good, so scorned the preaching of this man of God that they would not listen to him or even be present at his holy exhortations. Finally, after they had refused to accept his preaching for very many days, Francis severely rebuked their hardness of hear: "I grieve very much," he said, "over your unhappy condition, because you ar spurning not only me, the servant of Christ, but you are also despising him in me, since I am announcing the Good News of the Redeemer of the world to you. So now I am leaving Rome, invoking upon you desolation the testimony of him who is the faithful witness in heaven; and to your shame I am going to preach the Good News of Christ to the wild animals and the birds of the air, that they might listen to the healing words of God, obey the, and find peace."

He then left the city, and on the outskirts he found crows sitting among the carrion, as well as kites and magpies and many other birds flying about in the air. He said to them: "I command you, in the name of Jesus Christ, who the Jews crucified and whose preaching the miserable Romans have scorned, to come near to me and listen to the word of God, in the name of him who created you and preserved you in the ark of Noah from the waters of the flood." As soon as he gave the command, that entire multitude of birds drew near and surrounded him; keeping quiet and ceasing all their chirping, those birds did not move from the spot for the space of half a day, but remained intent on the words of the man of God, never turning their gaze away from the face of the preacher.

This remarkable incident was soon discovered by the Roman citizens and by those entering and leaving the city, and when this was repeated for three days by the man of God when he called the birds together, the clergy, together with a crowd of people, wen out and with great veneration led the man of God back to the city. And then by the oil of his supplicatory preaching, hearts that had been fruitless and consistently hardened were softened and changed for the better. (Saint, 599)