Religious · Feast day October 4
St. Francis of Assisi
The feast day of St. Francis of Assisi is October 4, a memorial in the US Catholic calendar. Traditionally invoked as patron of animals, ecology, and Italy. Below: a short life and 5 sourced quotations in their own words.
| Feast day | October 4 |
|---|---|
| In the US calendar | Memorial |
| Title | Religious |
| Died | c. 1226 |
| Patron of | animals, ecology, Italy |
| In their own words | 5 sourced quotations |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | None left in the published calendar (through December 31, 2028) |
Life
The son of a rich cloth merchant of Assisi, Francis renounced his inheritance in the public square, stripping off his fine clothes to marry Lady Poverty. He rebuilt ruined churches with his hands, embraced lepers, and preached to birds and to sultans alike.
Two years before his death he received the stigmata on Mount La Verna, the first recorded in history. He composed the Canticle of the Creatures as he lay dying, singing welcome to Sister Death.
Patron of
Tradition invokes St. Francis of Assisi as patron of animals, ecology, and Italy.
Saints with the same patronage
- St. Kateri Tekakwithaecology · July 14
- St. Catherine of SienaItaly · April 29
Patronages are traditional, not an official list. All patron saints in Bless, A to Z.
In their own words
Each quotation names the work it comes from. Bless quotes these in the comments beside the verses listed under In Scripture.
What a man is before God, that he is and no more.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars: in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when he is well and can be of service to him.
Let us hold on to the words, the life, the teaching and the holy Gospel of Him who humbled Himself to ask His Father for us.
The Lord gave me brothers, and no one showed me what I ought to do, but the Most High Himself revealed to me that I should live according to the form of the Holy Gospel.
In Scripture
In Bless, St. Francis of Assisi’s words appear in the comments beside these verses. This page’s labels say how each is linked: “on this verse” means the saint wrote about that very verse; “on this theme” means the quotation shares its theme. Scripture is quoted from the Catholic Public Domain Version.
On this theme
And the Lord said to Samuel: “You should not look with favor on his face, nor on the height of his stature. For I have rejected him. Neither do I judge by the appearance of a man. For man sees those things that are apparent, but the Lord beholds the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7 · CPDV Beside their words: “What a man is before God, that he is and no more.”
On this theme
Praise him, sun and moon. Praise him, all stars and light.
Psalm 148:3 · CPDV Beside their words: “Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars: in heaven You formed them…”
On this theme
All works of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all forever.
Daniel 3:57 · CPDV Beside their words: “Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars: in heaven You formed them…”
On this theme
Jesus said to him: “If you are willing to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me.”
Matthew 19:21 · CPDV Beside their words: “The Lord gave me brothers, and no one showed me what I ought to do, but the Most High…”
On this theme
naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.’
Matthew 25:36 · CPDV Beside their words: “Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when…”
On this theme
I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those whom you have given to me. For they are yours.
John 17:9 · CPDV Beside their words: “Let us hold on to the words, the life, the teaching and the holy Gospel of Him who…”
On this theme
And I did not receive it from man, nor did I learn it, except through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:12 · CPDV Beside their words: “The Lord gave me brothers, and no one showed me what I ought to do, but the Most High…”
On this theme
For if anyone considers himself to be something, though he may be nothing, he deceives himself.
Galatians 6:3 · CPDV Beside their words: “What a man is before God, that he is and no more.”
2 more verses
On this theme
He humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, even the death of the Cross.
Philippians 2:8 · CPDV Beside their words: “Let us hold on to the words, the life, the teaching and the holy Gospel of Him who…”
On this theme
My little sons, let us not love in words only, but in works and in truth.
1 John 3:18 · CPDV Beside their words: “Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when…”
In the calendar
The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Francis of Assisi. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.
Readings
No dates are left in Bless’s published calendar, which runs through December 31, 2028. St. Francis of Assisi keeps October 4 in Bless’s calendar of saints: see the saints of October.
All the saints of October Born on October 4? A saint for every day
Spotted a mistake in a date, a patronage or a quotation? Report an error and we’ll fix it in the app and here.