Who was St. Francis of Assisi and why do we associate him with peacemaking? He lived in the 13th century in a small town in central Italy called Assisi. He spent his youth being the life of the party. He was popular and outgoing. He went off to war convinced he would come home as a highly esteemed proud knight. Instead he was captured and imprisoned for an entire year. He came back a changed man, recognizing violence was not the answer. He experienced a radical conver
Peacemaking is one of the essential, core values of being Franciscan. Consequently, and to no one's surprise, it is one of the core values of our center. It was the habit of Francis to greet everyone with peace and if you take a trip to Assisi, you’ll find both the Latin Pax et Bonum (peace and good) and the Italian Pace e Bene everywhere: It is a gentle reminder that in the midst of a world full of factions and unrest, God’s peace and good was - and is - fully present in al