Saint Francis of Assisi was born in 1182 in Italy to a wealthy family but chose a life of poverty, establishing the Franciscan Order and the Order of the Poor Ladies.
After being a prisoner of war and experiencing visions from God, he devoted his life to helping the sick and repairing the church.
Despite initial reluctance from the Pope due to their appearance, the Franciscan Order was eventually blessed.
Francis, known for his love of nature and animals, could reportedly tame wild animals and once saved a town from a vicious wolf.
He spent his last years mostly blind, dying in 1226 while singing Psalm 141 and was declared a saint two years later.
Notably, he set up the first known Nativity scene in 1220 and is said to have received the stigmata two years before his death.
Here is a best collection of quotes by St. Francis of Assisi.
Best Francis of Assisi Quotes
Where there is injury let me sow pardon. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Don’t canonize me too soon. I’m perfectly capable of fathering a child. ~ Francis of Assisi.
The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Don’t change the world, change worlds. ~ Francis of Assisi.
While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. ~ Francis of Assisi.
You wanderer on the path! There is no path, only wandering. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Jesus is happy to come with us, as truth is happy to be spoken, as life to be lived, as light to be lit, as love is to be loved, as joy to be given, as peace to be spread. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Dear God, please reveal to us your sublime beauty, that is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, so that we will never again feel frightened. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Be patient in trials, watchful in prayer, and never cease working. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Our hands imbibe like roots, so I place them on what is beautiful in this world. And I fold them in prayer, and they draw from the heavens light. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Grant me the treasure of sublime poverty: permit the distinctive sign of our order to be that it does not possess anything of its own beneath the sun, for the glory of your name, and that it have no other patrimony than begging. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Where there is discord may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. Where there is despair, may we bring hope. ~ Francis of Assisi.
By the anxieties and worries of this life Satan tries to dull man’s heart and make a dwelling for himself there. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Famous Francis of Assisi Quotes
What do you have to fear? Nothing. Whom do you have to fear? No one. Why? Because whoever has joined forces with God obtains three great privileges: omnipotence without power, intoxication without wine, and life without death. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Go out and preach the gospel and if you must, use words. ~ Francis of Assisi.
There is absolutely no man in the whole world who can possess one among you unless he first die. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Preach always. Use words if necessary. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Here is one of the best means to acquire humility; fix well in mind this maxim: One is as much as he is in the sight of God, and no more. ~ Francis of Assisi.
True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice. ~ Francis of Assisi.
If a superior give any order to one who is under him which is against that man’s conscience, although he do not obey it yet he shall not be dismissed. ~ Francis of Assisi.
The one you are looking for is the one who is looking. ~ St Francis of Assisi.
Alms are an inheritance and a justice which is due to the poor and which Jesus has levied upon us. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Upon this, Bernard went and sold all that he had. Now he was very rich, and with great joy he distributed his wealth to widows, to orphans, to prisoners, to monasteries, to hospitals, and to pilgrims, in all which St Francis assisted him with prudence and fidelity. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. ~ Francis of Assisi.
I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, he can work through anyone. ~ Francis of Assisi.
It was easy to love God in all that was beautiful. The lessons of deeper knowledge, though, instructed me to embrace God in all things. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Top Francis of Assisi Quotes
The tree of love its roots hath spread Deep in my heart, and rears its head; Rich are its fruits: they joy dispense; Transport the heart, and ravish sense. In love’s sweet swoon to thee I cleave, Blessed source of love. ~ Francis of Assisi.
The journey is essential to the dream. ~ Francis of Assisi.
What could you do to a man who owns nothing? You can’t starve a fasting man, you can’t steal from someone who has no money, you can’t ruin someone who hates prestige. ~ Francis of Assisi.
A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Every day He humbles Himself just as He did when from from His heavenly throne into the Virgin’s womb; every day He comes to us and lets us see Him in lowliness, when He descends from the bosom of the Father into the hands of the priest at the altar. ~ Francis of Assisi.
What is it that stands higher than words? Action. What is it that stands higher than action? Silence. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Be patient, because the weaknesses of the body are given to us in this world by God for the salvation of the soul. So they are of great merit when they are borne patiently. ~ Francis of Assisi.
A promise is a child of the understanding and the will; the understanding begets it, the will brings it forth. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves so that He who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally. ~ Francis of Assisi.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist. ~ Francis of Assisi.
For it is in giving that we receive. ~ Francis of Assisi.
No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self. ~ Francis of Assisi.
May the power of your love, Lord Christ, fiery and sweet as honey, so absorb our hearts as to withdraw them from all that is under heaven. Grant that we may be ready to die for love of your love, as you died for love of our love. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Popular Francis of Assisi Quotes
I beg you to show the greatest possible reverence and honor for the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things, whether on earth or in heaven, have been brought to peace and reconciled with Almighty God. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily. To lean upon Thy great strength, trustfully, restfully. To wait for the unfolding of Thy will, patiently, serenely. To meet others, peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow, confidently, courageously. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Preach the Gospel, if necessary use words. ~ Francis of Assisi.
The brave unfortunate are our best acquaintance. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Preach always. If necessary, use words. ~ Francis of Assisi.
We should have no more use or regard for money in any of its forms than we have for dust. Those who think it is worth more, or who are greedy for it, expose themselves to the danger of being deceived by the Devil. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received – only what you have given: a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Spiritual joy arises from purity of the heart and perseverance in prayer. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Blessed is the servant who esteems himself no more highly when he is praised and exalted by people than when he is considered worthless, foolish, and to be despised; since what a man is before God, that he is and nothing more. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Do few things but do them well, simple joys are holy. ~ Francis of Assisi.
All getting separates you from others; all giving unites to others. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Be Thou praised, my Lord, of our Sister Mother Earth, which sustains and hath us in rule, and produces divers fruits with coloured flowers and herbs. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Great Francis of Assisi Quotes
Blessed are those who endure in peace for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned. ~ St. Francis of Assisi.
It is not fitting, when one is in God’s service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society. ~ Francis of Assisi.
God could not have chosen anyone less qualified, or more of a sinner, than myself. And so, for this wonderful work He intends to perform through us, He selected me- for God always chooses the weak and the absurd, and those who count for nothing. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Holy charity confounds all diabolical and fleshly temptations and all fleshly fears. ~ St. Francis of Assisi.
You can show your love to others by not wishing that they should be better Christians. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Our actions are our own; their consequences belong to Heaven. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Grant me the treasure of sublime poverty. ~ Francis of Assisi.
The world is a great stage on which God displays his many wonders. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Nor did demons crucify Him; it is you who have crucified Him and crucify Him still, when you delight in your vices and sins. ~ Francis of Assisi.
A man has only so much knowledge as he puts to work. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission – to be of service to them whenever they require it. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Powerful Francis of Assisi Quotes
Pleased be you, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day and through whom you give us light. And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendors and bears likeness of you, Most High One. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Ask the beasts and they will teach you the beauty of this earth. ~ Francis of Assisi.
If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Be praised, O my Lord by Brother Wind, By air and cloud and every clime To whom Thou givest sustenance unto their kind. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Study always to have Joy, for it befits not the servant of God to show before his brother or another sadness or a troubled face. ~ Francis of Assisi.
You should never praise anyone until you see how he turns out in the end! ~ Francis of Assisi.
When I think of the happiness that is in store for me, every sorrow, every pain becomes dear to me. ~ Francis of Assisi.
What does the poor man do at the rich man’s door, the sick man in the presence of his physician, the thirsty man at a limpid stream? What they do, I do before the Eucharistic God. I pray. I adore. I love. ~ Francis of Assisi.
He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist. ~ Francis of Assisi.
We adore Thee most holy Lord Jesus Christ, here in all Thy Churches, which are in the whole world, because by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the world. ~ Francis of Assisi.
It would be considered a theft on our part if we didn’t give to someone in greater need than we are. ~ Francis of Assisi.
It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching. ~ Francis of Assisi.
You damned spirits! You can only do what the hand of God allows you to do. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Wise Francis of Assisi Quotes
If we endure all things patiently and with gladness, thinking on the sufferings of our Blessed Lord, and bearing all for the love of Him: herein is perfect joy. ~ Francis of Assisi.
We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen away, and to bring home those who have lost their way. Many who seem to us to be children of the Devil will still become Christ’s disciples. ~ Francis of Assisi.
When we pray to God we must be seeking nothing – nothing. ~ Francis of Assisi.
A man sins who wishes to receive more from his neighbor than he is himself willing to give to the Lord God. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Where there is darkness, let there be light. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Man should tremble, the world should vibrate, all heaven should be deeply moved when the Son of God appears on the altar in the hands of the priest. ~ Francis of Assisi.
You cannot all abandon your possessions, but at least you can change your attitude about them. All getting separates you from others; all giving unites to others. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words. ~ St Francis of Assisi.
Make me an instrument of thy peace. ~ Francis of Assisi.
All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle. ~ Francis of Assisi.
Where there is charity and wisdom there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility there is neither anger nor worry. ~ Francis of Assisi.
So these were the 97 top Francis of Assisi quotes and sayings.
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Frances Hodgson Burnett quotes and Florence Nightingale quotes.
