The St. Francis Missal, Initial 'F' balanced in mouth of man-headed bird, Known today as the St. Francis Missal, this manuscript is traditionally believed to be the very book consulted by St. Francis and his companions in 1208. According to early accounts, St. Francis and two followers were debating what God’s plan for them might be. Unable to decide, they sought answers at the church of San Nicolò in Assisi, which Francis often attended. They opened the Missal, which sat on the altar, three times at random and in every case, the text on the page urged renouncing earthly goods

---

Size: 1541px × 2397px
Location:
Photo credit: © Penta Springs / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1208, accounts, altar, answers, assisi, attended, balanced, believed, bird, book, case, church, companions, consulted, debating, decide, early, earthly, followers, foundation, francis, franciscan, god’, goods, initial, laid, leaf, man-headed, manuscript, missal, missalinitial, moment, mouth, nicolò, opened, order, page, pivotal, plan, random, renouncing, san, sat, st, st., text, times, today, traditionally, unable, urged