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Bunnies forage at his feet; a squirrel scampers up his arm; two sparrows perch on his shoulder. The man, this friend of nature, wears a benign smile as these normally skittish creatures find shelter in his loving gaze. Meet the plaster Francis, the Francis of Assisi that adorns many a garden.

The real Francis of Assisi was nothing of the sort. He was a man on fire for God, who obeyed the radical call of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, even when that obedience cost him dearly.

His father was Pietro di Bernardone, a wealthy cloth merchant in Italy who had extensive land holdings around Assisi. Pietro also loved French culture. He was away in France on business, in fact, when his son Giovanni was born in 1182. When he returned, he insisted the boy be renamed Francesco, "the little Frenchman."

Pietro taught Francis the family business, and was no doubt proud when his robust 21-year-old marched off with fellow Assisian soldiers to battle rival city Perugia. When he heard his son was captured and imprisoned, Pietro negotiated for over a year and paid a handsome ransom to get his son back. A different Francis arrived home: Francis left Assisi dreaming of becoming a knight—he returned with a different calling.

The shape of that calling alarmed Pietro. One day Francis impulsively took fine fabric from the family shop, rode to market, and sold it. Then he sold the family horse he'd been riding. And then—to Pietro's fury—Francis gave away the proceeds to the poor!

If this wasn't bad enough, a month later, Pietro discovered Francis walking the streets of Assisi, begging for food—a disgrace! An enraged Pietro dragged Francis home, beat him, and locked him in a dark cellar, giving him only bread and water until he came to his senses.

This customary means of parental discipline didn't do any good. The next time Pietro was away on business, Francis's mother let her son go.

Forsaking family
When Pietro returned, he talked to the local bishop—perhaps his son would listen to him. The bishop summoned Francis, and told him it wasn't right to steal, even from one's family, even for the poor. He instructed Francis to return what he had taken. Francis looked shaken but said nothing. He simply stepped into an adjoining room while Pietro and the bishop waited.

When Francis emerged, he was completely naked. He carried his clothes in a neat pile, walked up to his father and placed them at his feet. He then turned to everyone and said, "Up to now, I have called Pietro di Bernardone father. Hereafter I shall not say, 'Father Pietro di Bernardone,' but 'Our Father who art in Heaven!'"

Greatly moved, the bishop took off his cope and wrapped it around Francis, who turned and walked out of the cathedral.

What a turning point for Francis—and for the church! Few of us are required literally to forsake family for the gospel. But Francis apparently saw that, in his case, a complete break was called for. Everything his father represented—comfort, wealth, status—stood in the way of his following Christ.

So Francis began his life of poverty. He preached repentance to the rich, and cared for social outcasts (like lepers) and the sick and poor. He gathered a handful of disciples, who eventually became the Franciscan order, which became a major force for church renewal in the Middle Ages.

Today, the Franciscans still run hospitals, schools, and other charitable enterprises in the spirit of the prayer attributed to their founder:

"Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy."

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