Spoto paints a vivid picture of the cultural and religious landscape of medieval Italy where Francis spent his short 42 years. He doesn’t leave out any details. His book not only tells the story of Francis, but helps one to place themselves in late twelfth and early thirteenth century central Italy. This makes it easier to understand the radically different life that Francis led.
Imperfect, yet Inspirational
Many saints are portrayed as perfect, but Francis was most certainly not. In his early years he got into quite a bit of trouble as the son of wealthy parents who spent most of his time partying. He desired to be a knight and fight in the Crusades, but despite multiple attempts, never achieves his dream. After a profound mystical experience before the crucifix at San Damiano, Francis begins his life-long conversion.
He steals money from the family business to rebuild a church, but when his father find out he confronts him. They exchange words and in the end decide they want nothing to do with each other and Francis strips naked hands his clothes to his father and tells him he doesn’t need anything from him.
Francis begins to preach in the rural countryside, beg for food, and live a life of extreme poverty modeling himself after Jesus. Soon his radical lifestyle sparked the curiosity of other young men who began to come to him seeking to follow in his footsteps. He accepted anyone willing to live as he did in humility and love.
The Gospel in Living Color
Spoto gathers information from various early sources on the life of Francis, providing a realistic look into the life of the reluctant saint. His stories come to life with vivid detail and Francis seems almost to be a life-long friend. He addresses the falsehoods traditionally told about Francis and defends the truth, providing an excellent biography of this great saint.
Being the first book I’ve ever read on the life of a saint, I found it to be extremely inspiring. Francis struggled to live the Gospel, using Jesus as his model, and I would say he succeeded. Spoto brings Francis to life, shining a bright light on his humanity, even the imperfections that are often lost. I highly recommend Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi as a historically accurate, inspirational read. Although I didn’t read it straight through, at just over 200 pages it is a fairly easy read. Spoto goes year-by-year chronicling the entire life of one of my favorite saints.
“Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi” by Donald Spoto is available on Kindle, in paperback, or hardcover from Amazon.com.