Born in 1181 to a wealthy merchant of Assisi, Umbria (Italy), Francis spent his youth in living high and being a soldier until a vision of Christ changed his life. He then devoted his life to poverty and the care of the sick and the poor. After
his father disinherited him, he began the order of Friars Minor, popularly known as the Franciscans. He is known for his ecstatic vision in which he received the stigmata (wounds of Christ) and his connection to animals. He one time influenced a wolf
not to eat people. Pope John Paul II proclaimed San Francisco the patron of the ecology in 1979. He is also the patron Saint of Santa Fe and dysfunctional families. His feast day is October 4th.