Blog 2: Religious Popular Art and Culture

Assisi is a small Italian town that is known all over the world. The reason why it is such a well-known place is because it is the birth place of one of the main contributors to the Catholic teachings, St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis is a very significant character in the Catholic Church because it was said that St. Francis would be the next Jesus Christ. He had so many different characteristics that led people believe he would be the next Messiah. He made so many huge contributions to the Catholic world and is famous for it. St. Francis lived a frugal life for the early parts of his life but heard the calling from God and gave up his riches for nothing but rags because he was excommunicated from his family and palace. St. Francis is such an important person because he exemplified many qualities that we all strive to possess as part of one of the Catholic teachings such as Life and Dignity of the Person, Care for God’s Creation, and Option for the Poor and Vulnerable.

When walking in Assisi it is easy to see who the most famous person is to come from that city because everywhere you turn there are multiple souvenirs of St. Francis in many ways shapes and forms. It is very interesting to see what types of ways that St. Francis is depicted. You are able to see St. Francis as coffee mugs and shot glasses to little statues and pins and postcards. St. Francis is able to be seen as a figure that is not being made fun of but being admired. He is seen depicted with many birds and animals since he is being the saint of the land of animals.

In the mural depicted you can see St. Francis trying to delegate both parties to stop taking part in a battle since every deserves to live. This further supports the claim that St. Francis was the embodiment of one of the Catholic teachings, Life and Dignity of the person. He believed every deserved to live and everyone had the right to live their life and by taking part in a war would not help this because people were killing each other.

St. Francis is most famous for having such a huge influence within the Catholic community. He believed people had the right to live and live by the virtue of God. He was seen to be the next Messiah because he had so many Jesus-like characteristics. He was even one of the first saints to receive the stigmata, which is one of the biggest honors that a saint can receive because it is the same scarring marks that Jesus received on the Cross.