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part 1

Well this kinda starts with his conversion wich from an historical point of view, is pretty murky because the circumstances of the conversion of St. Francis have not been clarified and we have news only through the hagiographies and the testament of the saint. It seems that his frustrated desire to become a knight and leave for the crusade played an important role, but above all a growing sense of compassion that inspired the weak, the lepers, the outcasts, the sick, the marginalized: this compassion it would then be transformed into a real "fever of love" towards one's neighbor.

In 1203-1204 Francesco thought of taking part in the Crusade and then tried to reach the court of Gualtieri III of Brienne in Lecce, to then move with the other knights to Jerusalem. Participating as a knight in a crusade was at that time considered one of the highest honors for Western Christians. However, when he arrived in Spoleto, he fell ill , spent the night in the church of San Sabino and here he had a profound repentance. He would later recount that he had been persuaded by two nocturnal revelations: in the first he saw a castle full of weapons and heard a voice promise him that all that would be his. In the second he heard the same voice again asking him if it was "more useful to follow the servant or the master": to the answer: "The master", the voice replied:

"Then why did you abandon the master to follow the servant?"

Francesco gave up on his project and returned to Assisi.

From that moment on, says Tommaso da Celano, Francis "changed worldly weapons into spiritual ones, and in place of military glory he received a divine investiture". It is with this invitation to follow the master instead of the servant that Francis transforms himself, according to his brothers, into an authentic and spiritual Miles Christi, soldier of Christ, that is, one who loves the enemy, instead of killing him. It is an expression attributed, starting from St. Bernard, to the Crusaders, but which has its roots in St. Paul, with a wholly spiritual meaning: "Together with me you too take your share of suffering, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus ". It is not Francis who uses it for himself. Rather the biographers, after the story of the vision, begin to attribute it to the Saint, recovering its original meaning. The invitation to peace then becomes a constant thought for the young person. In chapter XIV of his Rule not Bollata, he writes that "when the friars go into the world", in whatever house they enter, they must wish peace: "they do not resist the wicked; but if one hits them on the cheek, they offer him the 'other. Give to anyone who asks; and to anyone who takes away theirs, let them not ask for it".

But it was in 1205 that the most significant episode of his conversion took place: while he was praying in the church of San Damiano, he told of having heard the Crucifix speak, which three times said to him: "Francis, go and repair my house which, as you can see, it is all in ruins".

 What is Francis' position on the Crusades and the war? We don't know for sure. The Saint has never expressed himself in this regard in a clear and clear way. This silence has been interpreted over time in different ways. Among historians there are those who have strongly criticized the vision of a "pacifist" Francis, seen as an instrumental elaboration, a recent "myth". Some, such as Michetti, have postulated a consensus-assent, according to which Francis's lack of writings on the issue and his respect for the hierarchies would indicate a lack of criticism, if not sometimes an approval of the crusade. Other scholars, such as Massignon and Basetti-Sani, have instead seen the seeds of outright opposition in the Franciscan spirit. What we know is that in 1219, during the fifth crusade, Francis embarks to reach the Holy Land. Little is known about the trip from Italy. The sources, often biased, have several gaps. The only glimpse is offered to us by Thomas of Celano, according to whom it is "the ardor of charity" that moves him: "he tried to leave for unfaithful countries, to spread faith in the Trinity with the shedding of his blood".

The final destination is the center of the fighting, Damietta, the city on the Nile delta considered by the Crusaders the key to reaching Cairo and going to the heart of the Muslim army, in the impossibility of conquering Jerusalem. Accompanying the saint is probably Fra Illuminato, so called because he is said to be miraculous and cured of blindness by Francis himself. Biographers do not tell much about the two friars' stay in the Damietta camp. Surely they meet several Christian kings and the apostolic legate, Pelagius Galvan. Pelagius is an authoritarian man, in dissent, within the camp, with King John of Jerusalem and other leaders of the crusade. The reason for the division was the proposal made by the Sultan to end hostilities in Egypt, giving Jerusalem to the Crusaders. The meek King John of Brienne wants to accept the agreement. Pelagius thinks otherwise: he wants to continue the war to definitively destroy the Muslim army whose heart, in his opinion, resides precisely in Egypt.

Edit: typo