Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone was well known and loved from when he was young. He had a reputation as a partier and a drinker and was wild in his youth. Somehow, what some people would view as a lost cause, this sinner became to be known as St. Francis of Assisi. There were many factors that lead to the transformation and development of Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone into this known, loved and adored saint.
St. Francis was born in Italy as Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone. His mother named him Giovanni after St. John the Baptist while his father was on a trip in France. Giovanni’s father was upset that his son had been named after a man of God, he wanted his son to be a man of business. He renamed Giovanni Francesco, which translates to Frenchman. Francis had an easy life growing up because his father was a wealthy cloth merchant. Francis was also very well liked, and because of this, he was able to get away with a lot of things. With the mentality that one can get away with most things, it’s hard not to take advantage of it. Francis began staying out past city curfews, going to …show more content…
However, Francis longed for something more than wealth. He wanted the honor and the glory that a knight had. He decided that he wanted to be apart of the next occurring battle, which turned out to be when Assisi declared war on Perugia, a longtime enemy. Assisi suffered great losses, and those soldiers that were expected to be worth something in ransom, were held as prisoners. Francis was among these men and was held as a prisoner in a dungeon for about a year until he was ransomed. Still craving the glory of battle, Francis went to fight in the Fourth Crusade. Before he even made it to battle, Francis was called upon by God to tell him that he was on the wrong path and to return home. When Francis returned home, he was laughed at, humiliated and called a coward for not even making it to