St. Michael the Archangel Fraternity at 122 West Smith St, Apt. D, Hicksville, OH 43526 US - Did You Know that.....

• More books have been written about St. Francis than about any other saint
• He is the patron saint of peace, the patron saint of ecology, the patron saint of Italy and the patron saint of animals
• His "Canticle of Brother Sun" was the first major poem written in Italian
• Many historians trace the origins of Renaissance (hence, modern) poetry, art and drama back to St. Francis
• By forbidding the laymen in his Third Order from bearing weapons and from taking the oath of fealty, St. Francis became partially responsible for the downfall of the feudal system.  Serfs (semi-slaves) were freed and the number of petty wars were reduced
• His followers were the first missionaries to reach China and the far east as well as both North and South America.  Franciscans were with Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World
• The new World's first printing press was set up by St. Francis' followers in Mexico City in 1539 
• Franciscans established the first college in the new World in Mexico City, in 1536 
• Because the Franciscan Missions in California became the foundation for the growth of the state, St. Francis has been called the "first of the first Californians
• The City of San Francisco is named after him in Spanish
• Los Angeles takes its name from the Little Portion, St. Francis' main church and headquarters in Assisi.  The full name was "Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Portiuncula"-Town of Our Lady of the Angels of the Little Portion.
• The full name of Sante Fe, New Mexico is "La Villa de Sante Fe de San Francisco"- City of the holy faith of St. Francis
• Arizona's highest mountains are called the San Francisco peaks
• There is a mountain range in Missouri called the St. Francois (French) Mountains and one of Missouri's counties is also name for St. Francis
• In Arkansas, both a river and a town bear the name St. Francis
• Besides Roman Catholic Franciscans, there are also Anglican, Episcopalian and Lutheran Franciscans

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