Saint Francis of Assisi was a renowned figure throughout 12^th Century Europe for his deep compassion toward the poor, the outcasts of society, and especially his intimate connection with nature. His ecological sensitivity is driven by his love and praise to all creatures, through which he shows a great compassion and respect toward(White, 1967). He is well known for his sense of caring all creatures on earth. He also saw how the natural environment was tied to cultural institutes (Francis, 2015).

Everything is connected, human and natural environment deteriorates together” – St Francis

Church Legends about St Francis
Stories abound about how Francis’ connection with animals and how he treated them with care and concern. According to Church legend, a large wolf was apparently terrorizing the town of Gubbio. When Francis was presented with this problem, he went to talk to the wolf to mediate the situation. He managed reach a compromise between the wolf and the townsfolk where the villagers would feed him and he would not attack humans nor their livestock (Chesterton, 2008).

Because of stories like these, St. Francis of Assisi was acknowledged as the patron saint of ecology in 1979 by Pope John Paul II for his “exemplary ecological sensitivity”, as displayed in the several hymns and poems St. Francis composed. One of the most famous hymns is “The Canticle of the Sun” which has impact on us even till today.

St. Francis’ poem “The Canticle of the Sun” explicitly displayed his deep ecological sensitivity. Francis’ intimacy and appreciation for the things in creation stemmed from his synthesis of ascetic ideals, intimacy with nature, and poetic talent, resulting in an expression of his complex yet intimate vision of nature (Francis, 2015).

Francis composed the Canticle because he felt a sense of gratitude to God for the creation of creatures. And he wanted to inspire people and teach them how to think of creation with gratitude, appreciation, and respect. These appreciative attitudes instruct people to value creation at 3 levels: the symbolic (the sun as signifying transcendence), the aesthetic (Brother Fire as beautiful), and the utilitarian (the sun gives light, the earth feeds people) (Zhang, 2016).

The canticle is considered ecological because it rejects any notions of objectifying or taking nature for granted. Thus, Francis emphasizes not only its usefulness to people, but also its intrinsic qualities which merits awareness and respect.

These caused scholars note the similar sentiments Francis shared with John Muir, who wrote about how Forests were “sparkling and shimmering, covering hills and swamps, rocky headlands and domes, ever bravely aspiring and seeking the sky” (Muir and Cronon, 1997). Furthermore, they both advocated nature preservation by describing its majesty.

“sparkling and shimmering, covering hills and swamps, rocky headlands and domes, ever bravely aspiring and seeking the sky” – John Muir, 1997

Impact of St. Francis today – Pope Francis
Almost 800 years later, in 2015, Pope Francis writes an encyclical named “Laudato Si”, which addresses the issues of environmental degradation, irresponsible development and consumerism; thus raising awareness about this issues, and rallies “every person living on this planet” to act upon this issues. The influence is clear, “Laudato Si” is an Umbrian dialect phrase that appears in the beginning of a few lines in the Canticle of the Sun (Zhang, 2016). It shows how the influences of St Francis, and the Judeo-Christian beliefs which provided the background for his ideals and expressions still continues to inspire us and provide direction in terms of environmental conservation.

 

References:
Francis (2014) Canticle of the Sun. Retrieved from https://citydesert.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/canticle-of-the-sun.jpg

Chesterton, G. K. (2008). Saint Francis of Assisi. Hendrickson Publishers

Francis (1999). Canticle of the Creatures, in Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, vol. 1, New York-London-Manila, 1999, 113-114.

Francis(n.d.). Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon of St. Francis of Assisi – Prayers. Retrieved April 05, 2017, from http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=183

Francis (2015).Laudato Si’: on care for our common home. Frederick, MD: The Word Among Us Press.

Muir, J. and Cronon, W. (1997). Nature writings. Library of America, New York, NY

Saint Francis & the Wolf | TTW Institute for Franciscan Peacemaking. (n.d.). Retrieved April 05, 2017, from http://tamingthewolf.com/saint-francis-and-the-wolf/

Saint Sing, Susan. Saint Francis, Poet of Creation: The Story of The Canticle of Brother Sun. Franciscan Herald Press, 1985.

The Writings of St. Francis of Assisi: Part III. Prayers of St. Francis: V. The Canticle of the Sun. (n.d.). Retrieved April 05, 2017, from http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/wosf/wosf22.htm

Van Houtan, K. S.(2006). Conservation as virtue: a scientific and social process for conservation ethics. Conservation Biology 20: 1367-1372.

Zhang, X. J. (2016). How St. Francis Influenced Pope Francis’ Laudato Si. Cross Currents, 66(1), 42-56. doi:10.1111/cros.12170

Appendix: Canticle of the Sun in Full
Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord, All praise is Yours, all glory, all honour and all blessings.

To you alone, Most High, do they belong, and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.

Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour,
Of You Most High, he bears the likeness.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
In the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all weather’s moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.

Praised be You my Lord through Sister Water,
So useful, humble, precious and pure.

Praised be You my Lord through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You my Lord through our Sister,
Mother Earth
who sustains and governs us,
producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.
Praise be You my Lord through those who grant pardon for love of You and bear sickness and trial.

Blessed are those who endure in peace, By You Most High, they will be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Blessed are they She finds doing Your Will.

No second death can do them harm. Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks,
And serve Him with great humility.