St. Francis was not a hippy…

… I don’t how this Disney version character assassination happened or when it began to gain popularity, but St. Francis is not a hippy.

Blech! Hmm, this scene looks familiar.

Look, you don’t get stigmata by recycling plastics, refusing to wear leather, and driving a Prius. The simple fact is, St. Francis lived a life of extreme poverty and devout prayer. He walked to Egypt to convert the muslim Sultan, albeit unsuccessfully, but offered himself up as kindling in a trial-by-fire in order to prove the veracity of the Christian gospel. St. Francis also gave us the Nativity scene creche, is considered the first Italian poet, and he wrote in the local dialect of Umbria instead of Latin decades before Dante.

I don’t know a single spoiled trust fund baby who would follow in Francis’s foot steps and renounce their parent’s money for a life of constant prayer and crushing poverty so they can have more free time to attend protests and peace rallies.

So we’ll be taking back our St. Francis now, thank you very much.

Much better. St. Francis of Assisi by El Greco.

Related links; Abbey Road’s Gateway Saint for a different perspective… and he makes an excellent point too.