Saint Francis of Assisi: A Biography

Johannes Jorgensen (1866 - 1956)
Translated by Thomas O'Conor Sloane (1851 - 1940)

Born to a prosperous cloth merchant of Assisi, Francis (1182-1226) lived the typically high-spirited life of a wealthy young man of his day, which included fighting as a soldier. In 1205, while away at war, he experienced a vision that beckoned him return to Assisi, where he soon lost his taste for the worldly life and began to live a life of evangelical poverty in imitation of Jesus Christ. He embarked upon a pilgrimage to Rome, where he begged for alms alongside the poor at St. Peter's Basilica. Upon his return to Assisi, be began to preach in the town square and soon acquired a curious following which blossomed into a worldwide religious order. The Franciscans sparked a spiritual revival that enlightened the Dark Ages and that continues even into our day.

Johannes Jorgensen (1866–1956) is best known outside his native Denmark for his popular biography of St. Francis of Assisi, which he wrote in 1907. As a student in Copenhagen, he searched in vain for truth in various secular and spiritual philosophies. But his 1894 visit to Assisi, with his friend Mogens Ballin, a Jewish convert to Catholicism, led to a turning point in Jorgensen's own spiritual life and quest for truth and marked the beginning of his fervent love for Francis, a love that became the preoccupation of his life and led to his conversion to Catholicism in 1896. His timeless biography of Francis of Assisi continues to inspire readers from all creeds and cultures. (Adapted from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Biography & Autobiography, Christianity - Biographies

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 00 00 – Author's Preface dave7
00:07:39
Play 01 01 – Bk. I, Chap. 1, The Convalescent dave7
00:10:38
Play 02 02 – Bk. I, Chap. 2, Infancy and Youth dave7
00:23:27
Play 03 03 – Bk. I, Chap. 3, History of the Epoch dave7
00:07:55
Play 04 04 – Bk. I, Chap. 4, Francis Becomes a Soldier dave7
00:12:58
Play 05 05 – Bk. I, Chap. 5, The Conversion dave7
00:22:37
Play 06 06 – Bk. I, Chap. 6, The Message in San Damiano dave7
00:17:23
Play 07 07 – Bk. I, Chap. 7, The Abandonment of His Home and Father dave7
00:35:54
Play 08 08 - Bk. II, Chap. 1, The First Disciples dave7
00:37:22
Play 09 09 - Bk. II, Chap. 2, The Foundations of the Order dave7
00:44:38
Play 10 10 - Bk. II, Chap. 3, Rivo Torto dave7
00:22:55
Play 11 11 - Bk. II, Chap. 4, Portiuncula and the Early Disciples dave7
00:43:55
Play 12 12 - Bk. II, Chap. 5, Saint Clara and San Damiano dave7
00:46:41
Play 13 13 - Bk. III, Chap. 1, The Sermon to the Birds dave7
00:15:10
Play 14 14 - Bk. III, Chap. 2, Missionary Journeys dave7
00:32:36
Play 15 15 - Bk. III, Chap. 3, The Portiuncula Indulgence dave7
00:21:38
Play 16 16 - Bk. III, Chap. 4, Chapters and Provinces dave7
00:14:19
Play 17 17 - Bk. III, Chap. 5, Cardinal Hugolin dave7
00:20:47
Play 18 18 - Bk. III, Chap. 6, The Missionaries dave7
00:23:41
Play 19 19 - Bk. III, Chap. 7, The Foreign Missions and the Chapter of Mats dave7
00:23:43
Play 20 20 - Bk. III, Chap. 8, Rules and Admonitions dave7
00:31:25
Play 21 21 - Bk. III, Chap. 9, Saint Francis and Learning dave7
00:22:52
Play 22 22 - Bk. III, Chap. 10, The Learned Franciscans and the Third Order dave7
00:23:53
Play 23 23 - Bk. III, Chap. 11, Elias of Cortona and the Final Rule dave7
00:22:12
Play 24 24 - Bk. III, Chap. 12, The Last Visit to Rome and the Crib at Greccio dave7
00:13:23
Play 25 25 - Bk. IV, Chap. 1, The Writer dave7
00:19:20
Play 26 26 - Bk. IV, Chap. 2, The Spiritual Life dave7
00:15:20
Play 27 27 - Bk. IV, Chap. 3, The True Disciple dave7
00:26:35
Play 28 28 - Bk. IV, Chap. 4, La Verna and the Stigmata dave7
00:24:28
Play 29 29 - Bk. IV, Chap. 5, The Farewell to the Brethren dave7
00:15:00
Play 30 30 - Bk. IV, Chap. 6, Francis, the Lover of Nature dave7
00:16:28
Play 31 31 - Bk. IV, Chap. 7, Francis' Last Testament, Illness and Death dave7
00:45:25
Play 32 32 - Bk. IV, Chap. 8, The End dave7
00:04:25