The Road to Assisi: The Essential Biography of St. Francis

I have been an admirer of St. Francis since my youth. I have, however, not known many specifics of his life. This biography was helpful to understand the man in his own times. This book was originally written by Sabatier in French in 1906. This English edition follows the Houghton's translation but the editor adds helpful annotations to provide more historical background, or expand on various aspects of the story. This is an admirable, readable, and inspiring book, which develops a realistic portrait of Francis as a product of his times, including some of the puzzling, and irritating acceptance of and commitment to some beliefs or assumptions of the ignorant age, and a puzzling commitment to the formalities and liturgy of the Catholic Church, including obedience to authorities whom he felt were unspiritual and unaware of the spiritual realities he felt had been revealed to him as the basis of his mission in life. His commitment to humility and deference became his undoing at the hands of the unscrupulous, power-oriented Cardinal Ugolino, who later became Pope Gregory IX. This manipulator wrested the new, unique and troubling Franciscan order from Francis' control with his acquiescence, because Francis felt obligated by the consistency of his own Rule of life and mission to bow to Ugolino's demand, after months of badgering in which he kept trying to make his viewpoint and call clear. Francis never gave up on his attempt to faithfully follow the insights of his calling to non-conformity. Because of the changes made by Ugolino, even before Francis' death, his order had become just one more of the hierarchy's ecclesiastical arms, opposite to the original intention of the founder.

I read this book for several reasons.I belong to a Parish named,St.Francis of Assisi,I know some people who volunteer where meals are served to the needy called St.Francis' Table,We attend an annual St.Francis' Blessing of Animals (pets),a friend recently made a Pilgrimage to Italy,which included a visit to Assisi where she obtained this book,I actually knew very little about the life of St.Francis,and have for a long time been interested in Medevial History. I found this an excellent book in every respect.I learned many things that,despite my longtime awareness of St.Francis,I really did not know very much about him at all. It is a book that is very well written,easy to follow,filled with facts and information, and to me did not suffer from the fact that it was written so long ago,translated from its original French and profusely edited and annoted. It goes without saying,that the book does an excellent job of explaining,often through his own words,who St.Francis was,and why he became one of the Churche's best known,important and loved Saints. To anyone who is interested in Medevial History;it is a wonderful insight into the everyday life of people in this area during the Middle Ages ,during the life of St. Francis ( 1182-1226 ).It shows how the Church was intimately involved and a part of everyone's way of life and culture. This is at the height of the period referred to as The Crusades;however for whatever reason,they did not seem to affect St. Francis or even his life to any great extent.We do learn that he was a Knight in his early days,his father was a wealthy merchant and his mother was of nobel birth.He also made excursions associated with the Crusades to the Middle East and the Holy Land;but his involvement in fighting and battles was very minimal.We see he could have,and at times lived an extravagent life,but gave it all up for a life of self imposed hardship,poverty and struggle for what he believed in and what led to is becoming a Saint. For many of the latter years of his short lifespan of only 44 years,he was frail and sick.What the reason for his illness is not clear,and he received little real medical help. Although we must realize, that at that time ,there wasvery little effective medical knowledge and lifespan was much less than today;especially if one became sick or injured. This would be an excellent book to read if anyone wants to know about St.Francis,who the Franciscians are,and particularly if you plan a visit to Assisi.

Now in a new edition edited and with an introduction and annotation Jon Sweeny, The Road To Assisi: The Essential Biography of St. Francis was first published in French in 1894, as the first attempt at a modern biography of St. Francis, one of the most beloved figures of Christian history. Author Paul Sabatier struggled to answer the question: who was Francis the man? Groundbreaking research reveals the a fully human portrayal of a man who was nonetheless gentle, passionate, joyful, and who desired to live as Jesus once taught his disciples. An extraordinary work that covers Francis' weaknesses as surely as his strengths, enhanced by the annotation and sidebars that place events of Francis' life in historical context. Highly recommended for individual reading as well as biography shelves, and a must-have for library collections.

I found this book to be the best overall introduction to the life of the saint I've ever read. The editor has taken the best of all of the other books on Francis and incorporated quotes, historical tidbits, literary allusions (i.e. Umberto Eco), maps, and helpful information for anyone headed to Assisi in with Sabatier's classic (and somewhat tragic) story of Francis. A gem.

The Road to Assisi is a factual, well-researched, unsentimental biography of St. Francis. Written in 1894 by Paul Sabatier, the book became a bestseller throughout Europe and made the Vatican's infamous "index" of forbidden books. Sabatier, a French Protestant wrote a very objective biography that portrays Francis favorably, but tells how his order of spiritual brothers was challenged by ecclesiastical authorities. I was surprised to learn that meek and gentle Francis could also be bold, stern, and assertive in many situations. He did not go gently when he reprimanded his brothers and there were several occassions when he did so. It's a good translation and finely edited by John Sweeney, who has added sidebar annotations that contribute to understanding the people and places in Francis's time.