St Francis of Assisi - Part 5 - The Poverello

By David Torkington -

Portiuncula
After Pope Innocent III had approved the rule of life that St Francis had presented to him, the little band of Brothers set out for home. They rejoiced all the way back to Assisi with unalloyed joy, but Pope Innocent’s hopes for the new foundation were not unalloyed. One question still troubled him as it had already troubled Guido, the bishop of Assisi before him. For Francis had also asked permission to live in absolute poverty. How can anyone follow Christ in absolute poverty, owning nothing whatsoever, either personally or in common? And was it correct to say that this was the poverty as lived by Jesus himself and his followers? There is certainly evidence to suggest that the first disciples  pooled their resources and lived a life in common after the Resurrection, but no evidence to suggest that this became a universal norm in the early church, and that is a very long way from living without any personal possessions whatsoever. These are questions that have exercised the minds of Franciscan scholars for centuries.

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