Monthly Spiritual Message, January 2026
By Fr Joe McKay OFM
In 1889, the Protestant scholar Paul Sabatier stated that the early biographies by Bonaventure and Thomas Celano overly favoured the papacy and the clerical party within the Franciscan Order. He saw the writing by St Francis’ companions, such as the Assisi Compilation, as being more in align with Francis’ values and theological outlook. The debate about the accuracy of different biographies of St Francis and their dependence on each other has prompted what is often called the Franciscan Question: Who is the real St Francis?
The early biographies of St Francis are each written from a different theological stance. They unashamedly reflect the author’s bias and perspective about St Francis of Assisi. They were often written for a particular purpose, at a particular time, to address issues facing the Church and disputes within the Franciscan movement.
Thomas Celano wrote his biographies to promote the holiness of St Francis and the movement he founded to the broader Church. His first biography, The Life of St Francis (1 Cel), written in 1229, was a promotion of the newly canonised saint. Celano’s second life of Francis, The Remembrance of a Soul (2 Cel) in 1240 and his Treatise on the Miracles of St Francis (1250) continue this theme but include additional testimonies he gathered from others. A more recently discovered biography by Celano, The Life of Our Blessed Father Francis (translated by Jacques Dalarun), was written in 1235-1238 as a small book the friars could carry with them. The later writings by Thomas Celano are, in many ways, official biographies commissioned by the Order under General Minister Crescentius of Jesi (1244-1247) to explain the “official” way of life that St Francis proposed.
What is often overlooked today is that the most well-known biographies in the early period of the Franciscan movement were those written to be read during liturgy. These includes The Legend for Use in Choir (1230-1232) by Celano, based on his The Life of St Francis and Julian of Speyer’s, Divine Office of St Francis (1228-1232). Both Thomas of Celano and Julian of Speyer were friars during St Francis’s life. Similarly, Julian of Speyer also wrote a Life of Francis (1232) consisting of short chapters so that they could be read during the friar’s communal meals.
Thomas Celano used earlier traditional motifs of saints to promote St Francis’ holiness. He repeats stories associated with other saints. Julian of Speyer is more pastoral, concrete, and direct. Celano writes for the whole Church while Speyer writes for the formation of the friars themselves. Speyer uses the stigmata repeatedly to emphasise that St Francis is someone who concretely experienced Christ in the Gospel.
The growing clericalization of the First Order, which had started during St Francis’ time, the disputes about poverty and the influence of the apocalyptic writings of Joachim of Flores caused unrest within the early Order. The removal of Elias in 1239 and the increasing marginalisation of the lay brothers under General Minister Albert of Pisa and Haymo of Faversham saw an increasing debate about who St Francis was and how the friars were to live the Rule. The Legend of the Three Companions (1241-1247), The Legend of Perugia (1240-1241), The Assisi Compilation (1244-1260) come from this period. These documents were written at the request of General Minister Crescentius of Jesi in 1244, who was requesting information from friars who knew St Francis. Crescentius of Jesi’s aim was to compile an official biography which would unify the Order. Thomas of Celano’s writings use some of this collected material in The Remembrance of a Soul and Treatise on the Miracles of St Francis.
In The Legend of Perugia, St Francis is portrayed as a brother amongst brothers. This document shows that St Francis was guided by mentors such as Bishop Guido of Assisi, Cardinal John of St Paul and Pope Honorius, who as a cardinal was the protector of the Order. St Francis is portrayed as a servant of the Church. The Legend of the Three Companions focuses on St Francis as a founder and provides insights into the formation of St Francis through his difficult relationship with his father. The Assisi Compilation shows St Francis as a complex character who was at times harsh and judgmental, while at other times compassionate, gentle and warm-hearted. It was written by brothers who spent a lot of time with him and knew him very well. The Assisi Compilation is often seen as written by those who wanted to keep the early way of life of the friars, opposing the changes in the Order and providing a foundation to what would become the “Spirituals” position.
Bonaventure’s biographies and sermons on St Francis are written by a master theologian and leader of the Franciscan movement. Bonaventure’s aim is to compile an official legend of St Francis to unify the friars and respond to growing criticism of the friars by elements in the Church. Bonaventure’s predecessor as General Minister, John of Parma, was removed from office after being falsely accused of supporting the Joachimism heresy, which prophesied the corruption and downfall of the Church. Bonaventure, in response to these criticisms, places the Crucified Christ at the very heart of the Franciscan way of life and shows how St Francis is moved by God’s grace through a process of purification, illumination and union with God. Bonaventure never met St Francis but used as his sources the writings of Thomas Celano and Julian of Speyer. Bonaventure tried to provide a balanced portrait of St Francis, as a man seeking to conform himself to Christ but always at the service of the Church. Bonaventure shows that it is Christ, not St Francis, that the friars are called to imitate. The General Chapter in 1266 approved The Major Legend (1260) as the official biography of St Francis while the Minor Legend was promoted for liturgies of the friars. All other legends about St Francis were ordered to be destroyed. The biography by Bonaventure became the fundamental and primary portrait of Francis alongside the Rule and Testament.
Many of the popular source biographies of St Francis were written almost a hundred years after his death: The Mirror of Perfection (1318), The Deeds of St Francis and his Companions (1328-1337) and The Little Flowers of St Francis (1337). They were written during a period of crisis for both the Church and the Order. The Church had experienced the movement of the papal court to Avignon and was headed into what was to become the Western Schism (1378 to 1417). The friars were in dispute about poverty, and the privileges they had obtained, and compromises to the Rule made in service of the Church. This was to culminate in the denouncement of the Spirituals faction by Pope John XXII in 1422 and the removal and excommunication of General Minister Michael of Cesena who defended the notion that Christ and the Apostles lived in poverty.
The Mirror of Perfection (1318) was written to promote St Francis as a model: the perfect imitator of Christ. The author is proposing that the friars change and reform their life after the fashion of St Francis. The source material for The Mirror of Perfection comes from Celano and The Assisi Compilation and in many ways reflects the Spiritual view that Order needed radical reform at both the personal and organizational level.
The Deeds of St Francis and his Companions (1328-1337) promote a devotional attachment to St Francis but also encourages an austere, self-denigrating and moralistic spirituality. It proposes joyful simplicity as a response in facing the troubles of a bleak and pessimistic age. The Deeds of St Francis is not always historically or chronically accurate but portrays St Francis as a man of unrelenting prayer, an untiring apostle of the Gospel and a loving brother of man and creation.
The Little Flowers of St Francis are in many ways a retranslation of The Deeds of St Francis. The Little Flowers aim to show the close bond between Christ and Francis and promote the popular devotion of St Francis as a saint of miracles. In many ways, they are a work of art, memories of memories, transformed and retold with imagination to make a forceful impact. The Little Flowers of St Francis provided an imaginative reflection for harsh times.
One of the most neglected sources of St Francis life is The Book of the Conformities of the Life of Saint Francis to the Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1385-1390) written by Bartholomew of Pisa. He aimed, as the title expresses, to show how St Francis tried to align his life with Christ. The Book of the Conformities uses both historical and scriptural arguments to present St Francis as the model alter Christus. It was written for Franciscan communities to shows how they were connected spiritually and historically to St Francis and his mission to embody Christ.
Who is the real St Francis? A man who was inspired to give everything to follow Christ. While people try to scrape away the imaginative to reveal the real historical Francis we are still left with a man of inspiring faith. We have copies of his own writing, patchy historical records, and the retelling of his life over eight centuries. The stores of St Francis bring alive the lived Gospel. Whether they aim to be a factual biography or an imaginative retelling of St Francis life they becomes wisdom literature which ignites our hearts and minds. The Franciscan Question for Franciscans is not so much as who is Francis, but who are we? Do we have the faith and imagination to live the Gospel today, and follow Christ, like Francis did?
Bibliography
Armstrong, Regis J., J. Wayne Hellmann, and William J. Short, eds. Francis of Assisi: Early Documents. 4 vols. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 1999–2020. (see the Introductions for commentary on intended purpose)
Dalarun, Jacques. The Rediscovered Life of St. Francis of Assisi. Translated by Timothy J. Johnson. St. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 2016.
Pisa, Bartholomew of. The Book of the Conformity of the Life of Saint Francis to the Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Edited by Regis J. Armstrong, J. Wayne Hellmann, and William J. Short. 3 vols. Francis of Assisi: Early Documents 4–6. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 202
Vauchez, André. Francis of Assisi: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Saint. Translated by Michael F. Cusato. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012.
Fr Joseph McKay OFM
National Spiritual Assistant
