Above: Detail of woodcarved polychromed statue of Saint Francis of Assisi in the St. Anthony Church of St. Ulrich in Gröden - Ortisei Val Gardena. (Credit: Wolfgang Moroder, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Eight hundred years after the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, Pope Leo XIV has placed the saint of peace, joy, and simplicity before the Church once again.
Most Rev. Gregory J. Hartmayer, O.F.M. Conv., Archbishop of Atlanta and a Conventual Franciscan, shares how the joy of the friars who taught him drew him to the order, how Francis came to understand Christ's call to rebuild his Church from within.
The Transitus of Saint Francis is celebrated on the evening of October 3, followed by his feast on October 4.