Mount Pleasant Magazine March/April 2018

72 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasant.Pet | www.MountPleasantBuilders.com feature pe s E ven if you’re not a religious person, you’re probably familiar with the iconic image of St. Francis, often found gracing gardens or natural areas as a statue of a robed man with birds, deer or other animals flocking to him. St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology, has won the hearts of many, both inside and outside of the Catholic faith, and is a symbol of caring and compassion for all animals. Francis, born in the 1100s, did not always lead a saintly lifestyle. He was born into wealth, and, even as a teenager, was known as a vain, rebellious partier and drinker. An aspiring knight with no combat experience, he fought on the losing side of a bitter war between Assisi and Perugia and was one of a few spared death, instead spending nearly a year imprisoned underground awaiting ransom money from his family. While a prisoner, he began having visions from God, and, upon his release in his early 20s, he returned a changed man. He followed God’s instructions, devoted himself to Christianity and moved to a radical life of extreme poverty at a time when the church and many of its leaders were wealthy. He developed quite a following and was skilled in delivering sermons that appealed to commoners and even preached to animals. He viewed them as brothers and sisters, equal to humans, and he considered both By Anne Toole All Creatures Great and Small St. Francis of Assisi Blesses our Pets Photos by Jeanne Taylor.