Francis of Assisi

Among the saints, Francis of Assisi stands out with special popularity. Dante Alighieri dedicated an entire chapter to him in "The Divine Comedy," Franz Liszt composed beautiful music in his honor, one of the largest American cities is named after... him - San Francisco, and poets of the Russian Silver Age wrote about him. Rock musicians also took notice of Francis, and Hollywood star Mickey Rourke played him in a film.
Francis became a hero of myths and legends. Their collection - the famous "Little Flowers" - has been read by people from different cultures for several centuries. But the saint of Assisi penetrated fine literature not only as a character. He managed to earn the title of the founder of Italian literature by creating the genius "Canticle of the Sun" - the first literary monument in history written in the Italian language. He is considered the patron of homeless animals. He is called the first ecologist, the first hippie, even the "saint of non-believers." Meanwhile, his spiritual offspring - the Franciscan order - has been thriving for nine centuries and currently has around 30,000 members. The 266th pope, elected in 2014, took the name in honor of the saint from Assisi for the first time in the history of the papacy.
What is the secret of such wide influence? How has the attitude towards Francis changed over time? How relevant are his ideas today? These and other similar questions are discussed in this book.