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St Francis of Assisi
Elizabeth Goudge tells the thought, and the work of St.Francis of Assisi. Her loving delineation of this " holy and humble man of heart " against the dazzling back-ground of life in thirteenth century Italy includes a description of the origin and influence of the Franciscan Order which he founded, and a plea for his ideals of blessed simplicity and singleness of heart, the recovery of which is so urgent and universal of our own times.
303 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1959
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About the author
Elizabeth Goudge
64 books895 followersElizabeth Goudge was an English author of novels, short stories and children's books.
Elizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was born on 24 April 1900 in Wells, Somerset, in Tower House close by the cathedral in an area known as The Liberty, Her father, the Reverend Henry Leighton Goudge, taught in the cathedral school. Her mother was Miss Ida Collenette from the Channel Isles. Elizabeth was an only child. The family moved to Ely for a Canonry as Principal of the theological college. Later, when her father was made Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, they moved to Christ Church, Oxford.
She went to boarding school during WWI and later to Arts College, presumably at Reading College. She made a small living as teacher, and continued to live with her parents. During this time, she wrote a few plays, and was encouraged to write novels by a publisher. As her writing career took off, she began to travel to other nations. Unfortunately, she suffered from depression for much of her life. She had great empathy for people and a talent for finding the comic side of things, displayed to great effect in her writing.
Goudge's first book, The Fairies' Baby and Other Stories (1919), was a failure and it was several years before she authored Island Magic (1934), which is based on Channel Island stories, many of which she had learned from her mother, who was from Guernsey. After the death of her father, Goudge and her mother went to Devon, and eventually wound up living there in a small cottage. There, she wrote prolifically and was happy.
After the death of her mother, and at the wishes of Goudge's family who wished her to live closer to them, she found a companion who moved with her to Rose Cottage in Reading. She lived out her life there, and had many dogs in her life. Goudge loved dogs, and much preferred their company to that of humans. She continued to write until shortly before her death, when ill health, successive falls, and cataracts hindered her ability to write. She was much loved.
Goudge was awarded the Carnegie Medal for The Little White Horse (1946), the book which J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter stories, has said was her favorite as a child. The television mini-series Moonacre was based on The Little White Horse. Her Green Dolphin Country (1944) was made into a film (under its American title, Green Dolphin Street) which won the Academy Award for Special Effects in 1948.
A Diary of Prayer (1966) was one of Goudge's last works. She spent her last years in her cottage on Peppard Common, just outside Henley-on-Thames, where a blue plaque was unveiled in 2008.
Elizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was born on 24 April 1900 in Wells, Somerset, in Tower House close by the cathedral in an area known as The Liberty, Her father, the Reverend Henry Leighton Goudge, taught in the cathedral school. Her mother was Miss Ida Collenette from the Channel Isles. Elizabeth was an only child. The family moved to Ely for a Canonry as Principal of the theological college. Later, when her father was made Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, they moved to Christ Church, Oxford.
She went to boarding school during WWI and later to Arts College, presumably at Reading College. She made a small living as teacher, and continued to live with her parents. During this time, she wrote a few plays, and was encouraged to write novels by a publisher. As her writing career took off, she began to travel to other nations. Unfortunately, she suffered from depression for much of her life. She had great empathy for people and a talent for finding the comic side of things, displayed to great effect in her writing.
Goudge's first book, The Fairies' Baby and Other Stories (1919), was a failure and it was several years before she authored Island Magic (1934), which is based on Channel Island stories, many of which she had learned from her mother, who was from Guernsey. After the death of her father, Goudge and her mother went to Devon, and eventually wound up living there in a small cottage. There, she wrote prolifically and was happy.
After the death of her mother, and at the wishes of Goudge's family who wished her to live closer to them, she found a companion who moved with her to Rose Cottage in Reading. She lived out her life there, and had many dogs in her life. Goudge loved dogs, and much preferred their company to that of humans. She continued to write until shortly before her death, when ill health, successive falls, and cataracts hindered her ability to write. She was much loved.
Goudge was awarded the Carnegie Medal for The Little White Horse (1946), the book which J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter stories, has said was her favorite as a child. The television mini-series Moonacre was based on The Little White Horse. Her Green Dolphin Country (1944) was made into a film (under its American title, Green Dolphin Street) which won the Academy Award for Special Effects in 1948.
A Diary of Prayer (1966) was one of Goudge's last works. She spent her last years in her cottage on Peppard Common, just outside Henley-on-Thames, where a blue plaque was unveiled in 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
August 12, 2021
This was certainly an interesting book about St. Francis, and I'm glad that I gave it a try, if only for the salutary effect that reading about saints often has on my spiritual life.
There were some things I liked about it. For instance:
-She focused on the role of the cross and suffering in Francis's life, a topic too sparsely covered in most stories of his life.
-There were some good insights into human nature.
-Also good insights into scripture in a couple of places.
-The organization of the book was good, focusing on topic rather than time.
-I enjoyed learning a bit more about some of Francis's companions
-The references to the Dominicans! :)
However, a few critiques:
-It is plagued by that romanticization of saints and sainthood that was all too common in the 19th and 20th centuries (and...still is too common, if we're being honest.)
-The author was in the habit of making confident assertions using the word "must" about emotions, actions, and people which were mere conjectures. In some places, I think she actually just made stuff up. For instance: from what I've heard from more reliable sources, it is not *certain* that Francis and Dominic ever met. And yet she has an entire scene in which Francis is getting all emotional about wishing the orders could be united. (?)
-In my opinion, she paints the end of Francis's life & the passing on of the order with slightly too dark a brush. There is evidence that Francis didn't expect all the brothers to be living exactly like him.
-She refers extensively to Little Flowers of Saint Francis, which is not a super reliable source.
-In the description of the dream of Pope Innocent III, she makes no mention of St. Dominic, who, I believe, was also involved!! Boo.
In summary, I am off to go read the (much more accurate, I'm told) biography of St. Francis by Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P.
3 stars.
There were some things I liked about it. For instance:
-She focused on the role of the cross and suffering in Francis's life, a topic too sparsely covered in most stories of his life.
-There were some good insights into human nature.
-Also good insights into scripture in a couple of places.
-The organization of the book was good, focusing on topic rather than time.
-I enjoyed learning a bit more about some of Francis's companions
-The references to the Dominicans! :)
However, a few critiques:
-It is plagued by that romanticization of saints and sainthood that was all too common in the 19th and 20th centuries (and...still is too common, if we're being honest.)
-The author was in the habit of making confident assertions using the word "must" about emotions, actions, and people which were mere conjectures. In some places, I think she actually just made stuff up. For instance: from what I've heard from more reliable sources, it is not *certain* that Francis and Dominic ever met. And yet she has an entire scene in which Francis is getting all emotional about wishing the orders could be united. (?)
-In my opinion, she paints the end of Francis's life & the passing on of the order with slightly too dark a brush. There is evidence that Francis didn't expect all the brothers to be living exactly like him.
-She refers extensively to Little Flowers of Saint Francis, which is not a super reliable source.
-In the description of the dream of Pope Innocent III, she makes no mention of St. Dominic, who, I believe, was also involved!! Boo.
In summary, I am off to go read the (much more accurate, I'm told) biography of St. Francis by Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P.
3 stars.
January 8, 2025
Goudge is not a historian and this wasn't a good narrative nonfiction. It took me forever to finish. It was extremely slow. But, I did learn about Saint Francis who is not the cartoonish lover of animals that we tend to portray him.
January 7, 2025
I couldn’t finish it. I dislike historical books from authors when I do not trust their authority and when the books tell me they are imagining certain aspects that are a large part of the book. This book fits all of these descriptors.
January 17, 2025
I really wanted to love this, but I have to admit it was a slog and I’m shocked I finished (sorry St. Francis!)
May 24, 2025
More helpful than any self-help book I've ever read.
August 21, 2023
Wonderfully written account of St. Francis’s life, full of prayer-inspiring insights. St. Francis’s life was about one thing: the cross. He saw the suffering Christ in every leper and beggar, and through his own poverty he participated in Christ’s redemptive work. Will be reflecting on this book for a while.
December 11, 2024
"There are a few saints whose light sends such a beam through the darkness of this world that the darkness not only cannot extinguish it but is forced to recognize it and cannot forget it."
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner! This man is a light to the ages! Saint Francis, humble and pure of heart, pray for us, that we might not walk away sad, as the poor rich man of the gospels did, but rather run, free from the snares of worldly treasures, into Your loving arms.
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner! This man is a light to the ages! Saint Francis, humble and pure of heart, pray for us, that we might not walk away sad, as the poor rich man of the gospels did, but rather run, free from the snares of worldly treasures, into Your loving arms.
August 12, 2025
Such beautiful writing, though I did have a hard time keeping all the characters in order in my brain, and parts of it felt very, very slow. BUT there were such beautiful parts that nearly brought me to tears I really did enjoy it. I abandoned it last year to read other things when I was about halfway through, and slowly finished it this summer, rotating through with other prayer books. I learned so much more about St. Francis and I'm glad to have read it!
December 11, 2024
Incredible saint. Incredible author. This was absolutely beautiful.
December 26, 2024
3.5 stars. Some parts were really interesting. Other parts seemed to drag with the author inserting herself too much. Would have preferred a historical fiction version of the story. I did learn a lot about St Francis and has much to reflect on but the writing style bothered me at times.
December 6, 2024
I read this book for the Well Read Mom book club. I found the prose somewhat difficult.
Since I've been in Umbria Italy and Assisi, I was able to follow his movements.
The rwal.stoey here is the effort it takes to live a life truly devoted to the Lord.
Since I've been in Umbria Italy and Assisi, I was able to follow his movements.
The rwal.stoey here is the effort it takes to live a life truly devoted to the Lord.
October 1, 2015
A book was provided for my review.
My God and My All: The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi is written as a story by the novelist Elizabeth Goudge who was a New York Times best selling author. Sometimes religious history books can be a bit dry and difficult to follow – at least that has been my experience. My God and My All: The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi is anything but. Elizabeth Goudge knows how to tell a story that’s easy to follow and interesting.
Like a story, the author tells Saint Francis’ life as though she were there. She created this story based on her own research, and if you want, you can continue your reading about his life by looking at the list at the end of the book. I love that Elizabeth Goudge wrote this so your average person could learn more about Saint Francis. If you’re looking for facts for a paper, I would definitely recommend you continue with the referenced readings for more information.
I’d definitely recommend this for anyone who wants more of an insight into Saint Francis’ life.
My God and My All: The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi is written as a story by the novelist Elizabeth Goudge who was a New York Times best selling author. Sometimes religious history books can be a bit dry and difficult to follow – at least that has been my experience. My God and My All: The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi is anything but. Elizabeth Goudge knows how to tell a story that’s easy to follow and interesting.
Like a story, the author tells Saint Francis’ life as though she were there. She created this story based on her own research, and if you want, you can continue your reading about his life by looking at the list at the end of the book. I love that Elizabeth Goudge wrote this so your average person could learn more about Saint Francis. If you’re looking for facts for a paper, I would definitely recommend you continue with the referenced readings for more information.
I’d definitely recommend this for anyone who wants more of an insight into Saint Francis’ life.
September 30, 2016
An engaging story, powerful and well-written. If you can look past the legends about Francis and the undue adulation that is often ascribed to him by admirers, you will see a real man who followed in the footsteps of his Lord as few ever have.
October 17, 2015
Perhaps because I grew up in a largely Irish Catholic family, I've always had an academic fascination with the lives of saints. This continues today even though I am not a practicing Catholic. I still find the history of the time periods and the bios of these men and women fascinating. Saint Francis of Assisi is perhaps one of the most recognizable saints, being the patron saint of animals / the environment. Loads of my neighbors have a St Francis shaped statue or bird feeder in their garden. But I can't say I knew much about the man before the sainthood, so I was curious to check out this book (originally written in 1959) by Elizabeth Goudge. I'm familiar with Goudge's name because of her children's story The Little White Horse, which J.K. Rowling has said is one of her favorite books, so I was up for trying some of her adult work.
St. Francis of Assisi was born Giovanni Bernardone in 1182 into a family of Italian nobility. He was later nicknamed Francesco, which is how we today come to know him as Francis. By his teens, Francis' hometown was under much political and religious tension. War broke out, and Francis enlisted in the army, being taken into the cavalry unit. Prior to the war, Francis was known to have a very charismatic nature, lively and fun-loving, always craving the spotlight and the finer things in life. Though he was Mr. Popularity then, his mother was the first to call it -- "My son will be a man of God." Not that she was forcing him in that direction, she just somehow seemed to have a mother's intuition that that's the path he would choose.
While enlisted, he and some other soldiers were taken as POWs. He was finally released years later at the age of 22, but his once vibrant self had clearly taken a hit. Not only was he sent home gravely ill from the conditions he was made to live in but he had also witnessed some of his friends tortured, even sometimes killed. Suddenly the bright, shiny things of the world didn't seem so important. Illness, which he survived, and war experience had notably humbled Francis. Where before his germaphobic nature would have him steer clear of his city's homeless, now he sought them out and asked how he could help.
That being said, his transformation from being material-driven to the selfless saint we know today was not overnight. Throughout much of his 20s, he still struggled with letting go of his desire to pursue material luxuries. When it came to his hang-ups with the sick and homeless, he still struggled with his strong aversion to being exposed to foul odors or dirtiness, but ended up forcing himself through a sort of immersion therapy to get him past it. He would swap clothes with beggars to panhandle on the street, much to the shame of his wealthy family; he would kiss the hands of lepers and was even known to once eat out of the same bowl as a leper with bleeding hands. At one point he even lived in a cave for a month. Anything he could think of to more deeply humble himself before his God, he would do. I always find inspiration in reading that even saints had their moments of weakness, those moments of not so noble behavior. It's comforting to be reminded that at the end of the day the best of us are only human. :-)
Francis' father Pietro was stunned and ashamed by his son's behavior. Pietro explained that it's perfectly acceptable and even commendable to be charitable with one's wealth, but to actually be one of the homeless unnecessarily... Pietro found that disgusting. He tried to break Francis of the behavior by locking him in a dungeon, chaining him to the walls underneath the family home for days, sure that the isolation would break Francis of this insane behavior (as Pietro saw it, that is.) Unfortunately for Pietro, his punishment only seemed to strength Francis' resolve. Francis' mother waited until Pietro left the home on business to release Francis, essentially telling him to go with God. Shortly thereafter, Francis made the final step of completely renouncing his family's wealth. Almost immediately after deciding this, Francis found a renewed joy for life as well as rediscovering his sense of humor. There were still tough days, days of extreme highs and lows -- days where he faced mocking, persecution, and stoning from the townspeople -- but now he was driven by a sense of purpose. Here again, I found inspiration for my own tough days!
Francis' followers began to grow, men seeking his sense of peace, purpose and overall centered spirit. While Francis welcomed them to join him in his journey of spiritual growth and service, he insisted that no one among them put him on a pedestal. Everyone there was to be there, on equal footing, to do God's work. It was by this point in Goudge's book that I started to see some similarities between the life of Francis and that of Siddhartha Buddha. It wasn't only how neither wanted to be put on a pedestal, but also how both seemed to struggle with the feeling of never being humbled enough before their God. An attitude that echoed throughout the actions of Francis' followers as well. They were constantly giving away what few possessions they had, begging to be made even more impoverished to show their sincerity to their mission. There was always something they felt they could give up or a sin, however minor it would seem to us now, that they felt they could atone for.
I especially felt for the story of Sister Clare, the first woman to be taken into Francis' inner circle. She later developed the Sisterhood of the Poor Clares. Sister Clare was also born into a noble family, but upon hearing about the work of Francis, knew she wanted to dedicate herself to working with him. She wanted to serve God the same way the Franciscan brothers did, but even when her motive was something as selfless as dedicating her life to serving her community, she was still blocked in some ways simply because she was a woman. She was made to be of service as an "enclosed nun", meaning she was not allowed on the same kinds of pilgrimages the Franciscan brothers would take. While it wasn't exactly the life she had in mind, she idolized Francis and was dedicated to him and his cause her entire life.
Back to Francis, this book doesn't get much into his tie to animals (at least not until we get to chapter 12 of 20), though today we know him as the patron saint of critters. It does describe him having a love of nature in general, but I'm still curious as to what set him aside from anyone else having a love of animals, that he was chosen as the saint to rep them. This book also enlightened me on the years Francis spent in the Crusades, something I had never heard about before. As it turns out, he spent a good chunk of time involved in the Crusades, even taking time out to pilgrimage to Jerusalem during one Christmas season. What bummed me out was reading how he returned to his order to find the two guys he left in charge trying to make major rule changes for the whole house. This caused a rift in the house, some wanting to go with the new rules, some remaining fiercely loyal to Francis and what he had built from the ground up. Francis had become severely ill on his journey back and was, in fact, too weakened to deal with this BS on his own. He petitioned the Vatican for some help and thankfully got some papal representation to mediate the situation.
Biographies can sometimes have a tendency to run a little dry, so I was thankful that Goudge took the "write it like a novel" approach to this work. She's not making anything up but the pace flows nicely in the style that a good novel would. The majority of this biography was actually a four star read for me, but after about 3/4 of the way in, there were some parts that did start to drag a wee bit. Still a solid bio though, I thought.
The couple small issues I had with the writing: 1) It doesn't always feel like it flows in a perfectly chronological order. For instance, sometimes she would mention a person up to their death, but then try to go back and mention something else they did a few years before but write it in a way as if she hadn't just talked about their passing, almost like she remembered that she forgot and tried to slip it in there anyway. That got confusing in parts. 2) The other thing that created confusion for me was how Goudge would use the female pronouns "she" or "her" for damn near everything -- women, cities, structures. To the point where I constantly found myself flipping back and forth thinking "wait, who are we talking about now?" only to soon decipher that she was talking about a building. I understand using the pronoun here and there for things like boats, vehicles, etc. but here it felt frequent enough to give me a headache trying to keep it straight.
FTC Disclaimer: Handlebar Publishing kindly sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are entirely my own.
St. Francis of Assisi was born Giovanni Bernardone in 1182 into a family of Italian nobility. He was later nicknamed Francesco, which is how we today come to know him as Francis. By his teens, Francis' hometown was under much political and religious tension. War broke out, and Francis enlisted in the army, being taken into the cavalry unit. Prior to the war, Francis was known to have a very charismatic nature, lively and fun-loving, always craving the spotlight and the finer things in life. Though he was Mr. Popularity then, his mother was the first to call it -- "My son will be a man of God." Not that she was forcing him in that direction, she just somehow seemed to have a mother's intuition that that's the path he would choose.
While enlisted, he and some other soldiers were taken as POWs. He was finally released years later at the age of 22, but his once vibrant self had clearly taken a hit. Not only was he sent home gravely ill from the conditions he was made to live in but he had also witnessed some of his friends tortured, even sometimes killed. Suddenly the bright, shiny things of the world didn't seem so important. Illness, which he survived, and war experience had notably humbled Francis. Where before his germaphobic nature would have him steer clear of his city's homeless, now he sought them out and asked how he could help.
That being said, his transformation from being material-driven to the selfless saint we know today was not overnight. Throughout much of his 20s, he still struggled with letting go of his desire to pursue material luxuries. When it came to his hang-ups with the sick and homeless, he still struggled with his strong aversion to being exposed to foul odors or dirtiness, but ended up forcing himself through a sort of immersion therapy to get him past it. He would swap clothes with beggars to panhandle on the street, much to the shame of his wealthy family; he would kiss the hands of lepers and was even known to once eat out of the same bowl as a leper with bleeding hands. At one point he even lived in a cave for a month. Anything he could think of to more deeply humble himself before his God, he would do. I always find inspiration in reading that even saints had their moments of weakness, those moments of not so noble behavior. It's comforting to be reminded that at the end of the day the best of us are only human. :-)
Francis' father Pietro was stunned and ashamed by his son's behavior. Pietro explained that it's perfectly acceptable and even commendable to be charitable with one's wealth, but to actually be one of the homeless unnecessarily... Pietro found that disgusting. He tried to break Francis of the behavior by locking him in a dungeon, chaining him to the walls underneath the family home for days, sure that the isolation would break Francis of this insane behavior (as Pietro saw it, that is.) Unfortunately for Pietro, his punishment only seemed to strength Francis' resolve. Francis' mother waited until Pietro left the home on business to release Francis, essentially telling him to go with God. Shortly thereafter, Francis made the final step of completely renouncing his family's wealth. Almost immediately after deciding this, Francis found a renewed joy for life as well as rediscovering his sense of humor. There were still tough days, days of extreme highs and lows -- days where he faced mocking, persecution, and stoning from the townspeople -- but now he was driven by a sense of purpose. Here again, I found inspiration for my own tough days!
Francis' followers began to grow, men seeking his sense of peace, purpose and overall centered spirit. While Francis welcomed them to join him in his journey of spiritual growth and service, he insisted that no one among them put him on a pedestal. Everyone there was to be there, on equal footing, to do God's work. It was by this point in Goudge's book that I started to see some similarities between the life of Francis and that of Siddhartha Buddha. It wasn't only how neither wanted to be put on a pedestal, but also how both seemed to struggle with the feeling of never being humbled enough before their God. An attitude that echoed throughout the actions of Francis' followers as well. They were constantly giving away what few possessions they had, begging to be made even more impoverished to show their sincerity to their mission. There was always something they felt they could give up or a sin, however minor it would seem to us now, that they felt they could atone for.
I especially felt for the story of Sister Clare, the first woman to be taken into Francis' inner circle. She later developed the Sisterhood of the Poor Clares. Sister Clare was also born into a noble family, but upon hearing about the work of Francis, knew she wanted to dedicate herself to working with him. She wanted to serve God the same way the Franciscan brothers did, but even when her motive was something as selfless as dedicating her life to serving her community, she was still blocked in some ways simply because she was a woman. She was made to be of service as an "enclosed nun", meaning she was not allowed on the same kinds of pilgrimages the Franciscan brothers would take. While it wasn't exactly the life she had in mind, she idolized Francis and was dedicated to him and his cause her entire life.
Back to Francis, this book doesn't get much into his tie to animals (at least not until we get to chapter 12 of 20), though today we know him as the patron saint of critters. It does describe him having a love of nature in general, but I'm still curious as to what set him aside from anyone else having a love of animals, that he was chosen as the saint to rep them. This book also enlightened me on the years Francis spent in the Crusades, something I had never heard about before. As it turns out, he spent a good chunk of time involved in the Crusades, even taking time out to pilgrimage to Jerusalem during one Christmas season. What bummed me out was reading how he returned to his order to find the two guys he left in charge trying to make major rule changes for the whole house. This caused a rift in the house, some wanting to go with the new rules, some remaining fiercely loyal to Francis and what he had built from the ground up. Francis had become severely ill on his journey back and was, in fact, too weakened to deal with this BS on his own. He petitioned the Vatican for some help and thankfully got some papal representation to mediate the situation.
Biographies can sometimes have a tendency to run a little dry, so I was thankful that Goudge took the "write it like a novel" approach to this work. She's not making anything up but the pace flows nicely in the style that a good novel would. The majority of this biography was actually a four star read for me, but after about 3/4 of the way in, there were some parts that did start to drag a wee bit. Still a solid bio though, I thought.
The couple small issues I had with the writing: 1) It doesn't always feel like it flows in a perfectly chronological order. For instance, sometimes she would mention a person up to their death, but then try to go back and mention something else they did a few years before but write it in a way as if she hadn't just talked about their passing, almost like she remembered that she forgot and tried to slip it in there anyway. That got confusing in parts. 2) The other thing that created confusion for me was how Goudge would use the female pronouns "she" or "her" for damn near everything -- women, cities, structures. To the point where I constantly found myself flipping back and forth thinking "wait, who are we talking about now?" only to soon decipher that she was talking about a building. I understand using the pronoun here and there for things like boats, vehicles, etc. but here it felt frequent enough to give me a headache trying to keep it straight.
FTC Disclaimer: Handlebar Publishing kindly sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are entirely my own.
January 2, 2025
I’m glad I saw this one through to the end. It felt slow at times but was a delightful telling of stories that may or may not have happened during the life of St Francis in 1220’s Italy. It was interesting to attempt to put myself in that place and think of life 1000 years ago. Also the way his brothers wanted him to die in Assisi so that the neighboring towns couldn’t “claim” him astonished me. Part spiritual read, part factual, all artistic. I loved it!
March 8, 2025
Feels wrong to rate a book on St. Francis three stars, but it was a difficult read. I didn’t love the writing style - I guess maybe I’m not smart enough for biographies. Give me a Louis de Wohl saint book any day, but with this one I didn’t have a good picture of the timeline of events in St. Francis’s life. The jumping back and forth is hard for my brain. But I love reading about the saints and St. Francis of Assisi’s story is quite amazing.
January 8, 2025
This book with be in my heart and my prayer for a long time!
The saints are an inspiration in the way that they reflect as close as possible what mankind looked like before the fall- in complete communion with the Father. Francis’ life aids in unveiling the Lord’s original intention for our souls and hearts - it makes me weepy! He is worthy of it all!
The saints are an inspiration in the way that they reflect as close as possible what mankind looked like before the fall- in complete communion with the Father. Francis’ life aids in unveiling the Lord’s original intention for our souls and hearts - it makes me weepy! He is worthy of it all!
October 15, 2025
I’m embarrassed it took me so long to finish this book because it was truly excellent. Finished it as our train was arriving to Assisi and went back and re-read many parts of it while praying through St. Francis’ intercession at the places the book helped bring to life. I knew nothing of Francis prior to reading this but am now a huge fan.
December 9, 2024
Book club advent read. For nonfiction, I actually moved through this book fairly quickly! All I knew about St Francis was his association with animals which is such a small part of his story. An interesting read - and now I would love to visit Assisi!
October 11, 2022
One of best books I read all year.
August 25, 2024
An amazing story of deep faith, inspiring read.
December 16, 2024
Utterly amazing.
January 28, 2025
Life is short. I made it to about the halfway point and gave up. Probably not the right book for an intro to St. Francis.
February 4, 2025
This book will change you. Inspiring and beautifully told.
February 10, 2025
4 1/2 stars. A beautiful story of an incredible saint. I learned so much about St. Francis and have a soft spot for him in my heart. Highly recommend.
July 2, 2025
I loved this book. I loved savoring it. And I love St Francis even more than before. I’m actually so sad it’s over. An absolutely beautiful read.
September 28, 2025
stunningly beautiful
January 22, 2025
Beautiful and inspiring look at the life of the incomparable St Francis.
December 12, 2024
This is so inspiring - the way it was written, as well as the actual content. St. Francis is now one of my friends, and Elizabeth a mentor who introduced us.
January 19, 2025
Saint biographies can be challenging. On the one hand, I was a bit irritated by how much she assumed/inferred St. Francis’s interior thoughts. On the other hand, I liked that she did allow him to have human failings, and I found the book spiritually edifying at many points. I’m glad I read it, but I wouldn’t let this be the only book you read about this charismatic, mysterious, and profoundly influential person.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews