(Vatican Radio) He is famous for the Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon and
in the words of Pope John Paul, this saint not only "became a brother to every human
being but to all animate and inanimate creatures." Francis of Assisi, whose feast-day
we celebrate this week, is one of the world’s most famous and best-loved saints who
is honoured as the patron saint of ecology and animals and birds. But why did St.
Francis have such a powerful influence and what is it that attracts somebody to become
a Franciscan friar today?
Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges spoke to John Quigley,
a Franciscan friar and long-time activist in the field of human rights, justice and
ecology, who leads groups of pilgrims to Assisi each year to retrace the footsteps
of St. Francis.