St Francis of Assisi - Patron saint of animals and ecology

 Preaching to birds                                               

Flocks of birds would sometimes gather while Francis was speaking, and the birds listened intently to Francis’ sermons: “St. Francis lifted up his eyes, and saw on some trees by the wayside a great multitude of birds; and being much surprised, he said to his companions, ‘Wait for me here by the way, whilst I go and preach to my little sisters the birds’; and entering into the field, he began to preach to the birds which were on the ground, and suddenly all those also on the trees came round him, and all listened while St Francis preached to them, and did not fly away until he had given them his blessing.” While preaching to the birds, Francis would remind them of the many ways in which the Lord had blessed them, and conclude his sermon by saying: “Beware, my little sisters, of the sin of ingratitude."

After Francis died in 1226, people who were with him reported seeing a large flock of larks swoop down near him and sing at the moment of his death. 

Taming a Ferocious Wolf

When Francis lived in the town of Gubbio, a wild wolf was terrorizing the area by attacking and killing people and other animals. So Francis decided to go meet with the wolf to try to tame it, he left Gubbio and headed toward the surrounding countryside, with many people watching.

The wolf charged toward Francis with open jaws the moment they met. But Francis moved closer to the wolf and called out to it: "Come here, brother wolf. I say to you, do no harm to me or to any other."

People reported that the wolf instantly obeyed by closing his mouth, lowering his head, creeping slowly closer to Francis, and then lying calmly on the ground beside Francis' feet. Francis then continued talking to the wolf by saying: "Brother wolf, you do much damage in these parts, and you have committed great crimes, destroying and slaying creatures But I desire, brother wolf, to make peace between you and them so that you may no more offend them and that they may forgive you all your past offenses and neither men nor dogs may pursue you anymore."

After the wolf responded by bowing his head, moving his eyes, and wagging his tail to indicate that he accepted Francis' words, Francis offered the wolf a deal: Francis would make sure that the people of Gubbio would feed the wolf regularly, if the wolf would promise never to injure any person or animal again.

Then Francis said: "Brother wolf, I desire that you swear fealty to me regarding this promise, so I may trust you utterly," and held out one of his hands to the wolf. Miraculously, "the wolf lifted up his right forepaw and put it with friendly confidence in the hand of St. Francis, giving thereby such token of fealty as he was able."

After that, the wolf lived for two years in Gubbio before dying of old age, interacting peacefully with the people who fed him regularly, and never harming people or animals again.

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Namaste