Today the Church keeps the feast of one of her greatest saints, one of those who taking the Gospel literally, followed Christ as closely as possible. The son of a rich merchant of Assisi he was set on fame and amusement when at the age of twenty-five, hearing a passage from the Gospel his whole life was changed: “Take with you neither gold nor silver…nor a second coat….” On the spot Francis left there all his possessions; in complete poverty, but also in the perfect joy of a soul set free he espoused his “Lady Poverty.” Before long he had several followers. He gave them a rule but especially he imbued them with his spirit; and the little chapel of Portiuncula, or Our Lady of the Angels, became the cradle of a great religious Order. St. Francis died at Assisi on October 4, 1226; less than two years later he was canonized by Gregory IX.