Francis, Saint: Conversion

Two years after his return from Perugia, Francis set out for the wars in Apulia, but illness forced him home again. He then underwent a conversion that turned him from the worldly life he had been leading. He became markedly devout and ascetic, began dressing in rags, and went on a pilgrimage to Rome (1206). A series of events at that time revealed strikingly the characteristics that Francis was always to exemplify: humility, love of absolute poverty, singular devotion to others and to the Roman Church, and joyous religious fervor.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Stigmata and His Death
• Founding of the Franciscan Order
• Conversion
• Early Life
• Bibliography

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