“Francis of Assisi. A Restless Life’’ is the latest work by Br. Massimo Fusarelli, Minister General of the OFM, on the Poverello (Poor Man) of Assisi. It is the biography which accompanies us, through the life of Francis, into the transformative power of the Gospel, that is capable of changing the lives of individuals and history and continues inspiring today as in the past, the values of peace, encounter, liberty, and respect for all creatures.
A story that goes through all fundamental steps of the life of the Seraphic Father: in his youth he stripped himself of his riches and embraced the way of poverty, his first companions who joined him and followed his preaching, the approval of his Rule by Pope Honorius III; and yet his openness to the women and the decisive meeting with Clare, the stigmata which did not stop him from spreading to the world the Gospel message until his death in 1226.
The book has been published by Rizzoli, and enriched by the preface of Mons. Felice Accrocca, the bishop of Benevento and Scholar in Medieval Franciscanism, and by the afterword by Card. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Mons. Accrocca defines the work of Br. Massimo as “a personal interpretation which is enriched by the sources and personal meditation”. Reading the preface, “I feel that I find myself in a similar interpretation and I am convinced that a Saint can only speak to the people, warning them, after having lived in a same history, influenced by fragility, having personal limitations as anybody, before overcoming them and adhere to follow Christ totally and his paschal mystery of passion, death and resurrection”.
Cardinal Pizzaballa relates the Holy Land of 1200 to that of today: unfortunately, the situation was not different 800 years ago, but despite the war Francis went to those places in order to preach peace and make dialogue and encounter. “Francis’ journey to the Holy Land did not solve political problems of the time. He indicated the method which is the principle way today that teaches those who want to work for peace, here, in the conflictual Middle East: the meeting”, writes the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. He concludes by underlining even the “craziness” with which St. Francis made that attempt: “for us [Christians] the other is not a rival but a brother. For us our christian identity is not a stronghold to be defended, but a house which is welcoming and a door open to the mystery of God and man where all are welcome. We, with Christ, we are for all. The Poverello of Assisi, eight centuries ago has shown us that this craziness is anyway possible. It is for us now to decide and choose with courage to live this evangelical craziness”.
Francis of Assisi. A Restless Life
By Br. Massimo Fusarelli, OFM
Prefaced by Mons. Felice Accrocca
Afterword by Card. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM
Rizzoli, 16th January 2024, 272 pp.
