This year, Pope Leo XIV declared this the Year of St Francis of Assisi since it is eight hundred years have passed since Saint Francis walked this earth. Saint Francis still serves as an example of humility, compassion, poverty, and care for creation in the twenty-first century. This blog is start to explain why Francis, and his followers, are still emulated in today’s Church. Of course, Franciscan spirituality is very much based on the God/Man who walked this earth more than two thousand years agio, which is perhaps why it has endured. But our world today, with all its problems, is why Franciscan spirituality is needed, perhaps now more than ever.

Vatican II

The modern Catholic Church, by most definitions means the Post Vatican II Church. John XXIII had a dream for the Church, and this dream came to reality when he convened Vatican II. I had just entered the Catholic church in 1959, so the early sixties were a time of great excitement for me, as we watched Vatican II come to life. It has often been described as “throwing open the windows of the Church.” With the Holy Spirit as our guide, one might argue that the Church windows were always open to the world, but in general, this was not perceived to be true. Although John XXIII did not live to see the full execution of what he started, Pope Paul VI took the reins and led Vatican II to its conclusion. Some of the sweeping and obvious changes were the change to worshiping at Mass in the vernacular language of each community and the increased role of the laity. But there was far more that came out of Vatican II, changes that I believe Saint Francis would have been delighted to see.

Here was a group of people committed to “rebuilding” God’s Church as Francis was called to do seven centuries earlier when he received his call from the Christ on the Cross in the church of San Damiano.

Among the more important documents of Vatican II which still speak to us today, sixty years later, are Lumen Gentium, or The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church. Section 7 of this document talks about the Body of Christ and section 10 talks about the Eucharist, a reflection of Francis’ love for and dedication to the Eucharist. Section 8 reminds us of the fact that Christ, “being rich, became poor” for our sakes. Although Christ was not rich in worldly possessions, this refers to the richness of being the Son of God, of being God. Shades of Franciscan spirituality are certainly seen here since Francis, like Christ, was a “rich” man by human standards who cast aside all his worldly goods to live like and serve the poor. Section 13 of Chapter II of Lumen Gentium talks about all people being called to belong to the “new people of God.” This also brings to mind Saint Francis’ love for all people and his tolerance for all people, including those not of the Christian faith.

Chapter IV of Lumen Gentium was revolutionary for the Church, stating that the laity, through baptism, share in the priestly, prophetic, and royal functions of Christ. Saint Francis himself was not a priest, but a deacon, and as one of the results of Vatican II, we have reinstituted the office of permanent deacon and have increased number of lay people serving in the Third Order of Saint Francis, lay Franciscans. And there is talk in the current Synod on Synodality of restoring women deacons in the Church. Of course, Francis respected and valued his Bishop and all priests, and in fact it was his practice to greet the priests he met by kissing their hands because their hands were used to consecrate the host. In some cultures, this is still an accepted practice for lay people to greet their priests by kissing their hands. Francis, however, also encouraged lay people to serve the Church in whatever ways they could, a practice highly encouraged by Vatican II. 

Other documents of Vatican II that reflect Franciscan Spirituality include Gaudium et Spes, The Church in the Modern World; Unitatus Redintegratio, Decree on Ecumenism; and Dignitatis Humanae, Declaration of Human Freedom.  These documents make it clear that they are intended not just for Christians but for all humanity. They assure the right to religious freedom for all people. And that the problems of the modern world are universal. This brings to mind Francis’s visit to Sultan Malik al-Kamil to attempt a peaceful relationship between Christians and Muslims during the Fifth Crusade. Francis was way ahead of his time, with his spirituality that embraced all people.

You can learn more about Saint Francis in my book, Francis of Assisi, Universal Saint: Franciscan Spirituality in Various Faith Perspectives and by listening to my webinar on May 12th.