
St. Francis in Ecstacy
By Giovanni Bellini
|
One of the best known monastic orders within the Catholic
Church is the Franciscans. This order was founded by Saint Francis of
Assisi. Part of Francis' motivation seems to be what he perceived to
be the Church's lack of regard for the poor and failure to follow the
its teachings of Christ about serving those in need. In
1208 he heard a call telling him to go out into the world and, in
obedience to Matthew 10:5-14, to possess nothing, but to do good
everywhere. Francis eventually established a monastic order devoted
to the poor, and in time, this order was accepted and sanctioned by the
Pope. Thus, the monastic order corrected what was perceived to be a
shortcoming of the church by reform from within rather than secession from
the church. |