St. Francis (c. 1182) was born in the town of Assisi in the Umbrian region of Italy. He was born into relative comfort and ease, the son of a prosperous merchant. After living as a rowdy, young nobelman for many years, travelling and even fighting wars, Francesco heard a sermon which made him reject his worldly ways, adopt a life of poverty and commit himself wholly to God. He founded a religious order, first unofficially, but later fully recognized by Pope Innocent III, a rule centered on a simple precept: "To follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to follow in his footsteps." The order still exists today, known as the Order of St. Francis, or the Franciscans. Francis died in 1226 at age 44. Apart from the Virgin Mary, St. Francis is likely the most highly regarded of all Catholic saints.
House Motto: Pax et Bonum (Peace and all good)
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.