The rich man's son who gave it all away — and found everything.
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone was born around 1181 in Assisi, a hilltop town in central Italy. His father Pietro was a wealthy cloth merchant, and Francis grew up with every advantage — fine clothes, good food, and a social life that revolved around parties, songs, and big dreams of knightly glory. His friends called him "il Francesco" — the little Frenchman — for his love of French troubadour songs. He was charming, generous, and popular, but not yet holy.
Everything changed after a failed military campaign and a period of serious illness. Francis began to hear God speaking to him. One day, he encountered a leper on the road — someone he would normally have avoided — and instead dismounted his horse and embraced him. He later described this as the moment his conversion truly began. Shortly after, while praying in the crumbling chapel of San Damiano, he heard Christ speak from the cross: "Francis, go and rebuild my church, which as you can see is falling into ruin."
Taking this literally at first, Francis began selling his father's cloth to pay for repairs. His furious father hauled him before the bishop of Assisi. In one of the most dramatic moments in the history of the Church, Francis stripped off every piece of clothing he wore, handed it back to his father, and said: "Until now I have called Pietro Bernardone my father. But from now on I can say in all truth: Our Father who art in heaven."
He spent the next years rebuilding ruined chapels, caring for lepers, and attracting followers who wanted to live as he did — in radical poverty, with total joy. He preached to birds, tamed a wolf, and wrote the Canticle of the Sun — a breathtaking song praising God through "Brother Sun," "Sister Moon," and "Sister Death." In 1224, he received the stigmata: the wounds of Christ appearing on his own body. He died in 1226, aged around 44, singing. He was canonized less than two years later — one of the fastest in Church history.
The Canticle of the Sun
Written near the end of his life, the Canticle of the Sun is considered the first major work of Italian literature — and a window into Francis's soul. He saw the whole of creation as a family, praising God simply by existing.
Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
yours are the praises, the glory, the honour, and all blessing.
Praised be you, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather.
Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praised be you, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us and produces varied fruits
with coloured flowers and herbs.
What Francis Teaches Us
Francis's virtues are earthy, joyful, and accessible. He didn't teach from a podium — he lived his message so visibly that it couldn't be ignored. Every virtue below is drawn directly from documented moments in his life.
5 Sessions. One Saint. Deep Learning.
This unit moves from Francis's dramatic conversion story, through his love of creation and radical poverty, to his legacy of peace — and invites students to find their own response.
Choose Your Year Level
Each session comes in three versions — same saint, same learning outcomes, different depth. Select the tab for your class.
- Story time (10 min): Read aloud the simplified story of Francis — the rich boy, the parties, hearing God, and the famous moment with his father and the bishop.
- Think-Pair-Share (8 min): "Why do you think Francis gave his nice clothes back? Would you find that hard?"
- My favourite things (15 min): Students draw three things they love. Then ask: "Is there anything you love so much it gets in the way of loving God or other people?"
- Story: Francis and the birds (10 min): Tell the story of Francis preaching to a flock of birds who stayed perfectly still to listen.
- Nature gratitude (10 min): Walk outside (or look out the window). Name five things in creation that are beautiful. Give each one a "thank you."
- Creation art (20 min): Students create a page in the style of the Canticle — drawing their own "Brother Sun" or "Sister Rain" with simple labels.
- Story: The leper (10 min): Tell the story of Francis embracing the leper — someone everyone else avoided. Ask: "Why was this brave? Why was it kind?"
- Who does Francis help? (10 min): Simple class discussion — who are the people in our world who get left out? What would Francis do?
- Sharing pledge (15 min): Students write or draw one thing they will share or give this week.
- Francis's greeting (5 min): Francis always greeted people with "Peace and all good!" Practise saying it. How does it feel to say it?
- Peace scenarios (20 min): Simple scenarios — a fight in the playground, two friends who won't speak. What would a peacemaker do?
- Peace dove (15 min): Students create a paper dove or peace drawing with one peacemaking idea written on the wing.
- Review game (15 min): Quick-fire questions about Francis — who were his animal friends? What did he give away? What did he write?
- Letter or drawing (20 min): Students write a letter to Francis or draw their favourite moment from his life, with a caption.
- Blessing of animals (5 min): If near October 4 — hold a simple class blessing for any animals or pets (stuffed animals welcome!).
- Before and after (20 min): Students create a two-column profile of Francis — "Before" (party-lover, merchant's son, wants to be a knight) vs "After" (leper-hugger, rebuilder, poverty-embracer). What caused the shift?
- The bishop scene (15 min): Read or act out the scene where Francis strips off his clothes in front of the bishop. Discuss: why is this considered one of the most dramatic moments in Church history?
- Reflection (10 min): "Has there ever been a moment that changed the way you think or act? What caused it?"
- Canticle of the Sun (15 min): Read the full text together. Map out all the elements of creation Francis names. What does he call them? What does this reveal about how he sees the world?
- Pope Francis connection (15 min): Brief overview of Laudato Si' (2015) — Pope Francis's encyclical on the environment, named in honour of the Canticle. Why is this relevant today?
- Stewardship pledge (15 min): Groups design a "Francis-inspired" classroom or school environmental commitment.
- The stuff we carry (15 min): Students list 10 things they own that define who they are. Then consider: if you lost them all, who would you be? Is that scary or freeing?
- Francis's poverty in practice (20 min): Read accounts of Francis sleeping under bridges, begging for food, caring for lepers. What was driving this? Why did others follow?
- Discussion (10 min): "Francis called poverty 'Lady Poverty' — he loved it. What do you think he meant?"
- Context setting (10 min): Brief overview of the Crusades. What was happening when Francis walked into the Sultan's camp?
- The meeting (20 min): Read and discuss the account of Francis and Sultan Malik al-Kamil. Why was it extraordinary? What did Francis risk? What did he achieve?
- Peacemaking today (15 min): Groups identify a current conflict (global, local, or personal) and discuss what a "Francis approach" might look like.
- The stigmata (15 min): What is the stigmata? Why is it significant? What does it tell us about Francis's relationship with Christ?
- Legacy mapping (25 min): In groups, students map Francis's legacy across six categories: religious orders, literature, ecology, art, popular culture, and interfaith dialogue. Present findings.
- Personal response (10 min): "Which aspect of Francis's life do you find most relevant to your own life? Why?"
- Primary source reading (20 min): Excerpts from the Testament of Saint Francis (his own account of his early conversion). Annotate for evidence of interior change.
- Two lenses analysis (25 min): Students analyse Francis's conversion through two lenses: (a) psychological — what does modern psychology say about sudden religious experience? (b) theological — what does the Church understand as happening in conversion?
- Discussion (10 min): "Are these two explanations compatible? Does one exclude the other?"
- Canticle close reading (20 min): Detailed literary and theological analysis of the Canticle of the Sun. What cosmological assumptions does it make? How does it differ from a purely utilitarian view of nature?
- Laudato Si' extracts (25 min): Selected passages from Pope Francis's 2015 encyclical. How does it draw on the original Francis? What does it add?
- Position paper prep (10 min): Students begin drafting: "Is the Franciscan vision of ecology a credible response to the climate crisis?"
- The poverty controversy (20 min): The Franciscan Order's debates over poverty were intense enough to split the order and involve papal intervention. Why did it matter so much? Read excerpts from the Poverty Controversy.
- Comparative analysis (30 min): Compare Francis's voluntary poverty with: (a) Marxist critique of wealth, (b) modern minimalism movement, (c) Buddhist non-attachment. What do they share? Where do they diverge fundamentally?
- Historical context (15 min): The Fifth Crusade, the siege of Damietta, the political and religious climate. What were the stakes when Francis walked unarmed into the Muslim camp?
- Source analysis (25 min): Both Christian and Muslim accounts of the encounter. Where do they agree? Where do they differ? What can we know with confidence?
- Seminar question (15 min): "Is Francis a model for interfaith dialogue — or was his approach theologically problematic? Can both be true?"
- A manifesto (600–800 words) — "What the world needs from Francis right now"
- A documented creative project — art, music, photography, or video responding to the Canticle of the Sun
- A policy proposal — if a government took Francis's ecology seriously, what would it actually change?
- A comparative essay — Francis and a contemporary figure who shares elements of his vision (e.g. a modern environmentalist, peacemaker, or contemplative)
October 4 — Making It Meaningful
October 4 is one of the most beloved feast days in the Catholic calendar — and it lands beautifully in the school term. It also coincides with World Animal Day, which makes it especially rich for classroom celebration.
A Prayer of Saint Francis
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.