St. Francis and the Body of Christ

St. Francis and the Body of Christ

Thomas of Celano, an early friar and author of three hagiographies of Francis, wrote that the saint “burned with a love that came from his whole being for the sacrament of the Lord’s body.” And Francis sought to spread that fire to his brothers, to the lepers he embraced outside the walled city of Assisi, indeed to all those who longed for a closer relationship with God. It was the summit of his faith—and he wanted everybody at the table. Franci…