Why people of every era since XIII century constantly refer to inheritance of thought of St. Francis? Could Franciscan spirituality be a salvation for today's Church? – Maciej Szepietowski talks to Jon M. Sweeney, author of the book „When Saint Francis Saved the Church”.

In your book you wrote that the real Francis was an unpredictable mystery. How to understand this?

I set out to write about Saint Francis because I wanted to understand him better, and help others do so too. But ultimately, we cannot know for certain about figures from the past; we often can only make educated guesses. I would like the reader to understand this. We do our best to study the original sources, and then we accept the fact that we will never know all that we would like to know about such an important figure in the history of the Church as St. Francis.

In your book, you quote very different people of different eras and temperaments. What is the purpose of this erudite dialogue between history and the present?

People of every era since the thirteenth century have been „in conversation” with Saint Francis, and with the essential Gospel principles that animated his life. By quoting a diverse range of thinkers and actors, I highlight some of these conversations—which are central to what it means to be, not just a Christian, but a human being.

How would Saint Francis find himself in today's times? How would he talk in times of social confrontation and polarization?

I believe that Francis today would do what he did in his own era: live simply, embrace the vulnerable and those in need, look to non-human animals as his kin, and live as if guided by the Holy Spirit—without much thought for tomorrow.

You refer with great hope to Pope Francis and his teaching. Why is it so important?

The Holy Father, from the moment he became the Bishop of Rome, has tried to lead the Church in the ways of Franciscan spirituality. Oftentimes, other leaders in the Church have resisted this, probably because there is great resistance always to change, and the Church hasn’t often been guided in the ways of vulnerability. I wish that Pope Francis’ papacy could last forever, because we need to „save” the Church today in the same ways that St. Francis „saved” it 800 years ago!

Thank you very much.

Jon M. Sweeney is a writer, publisher, publicist and initiator of numerous literary and religious conferences. He popularizes the life and work of Francis of Assisi and he is the author of over forty books on spirituality, religion and history of Christianity, including the book translated into Polish and published by PAX Publishing Institute “When Saint Francis Saved the Church”. He is a Catholic living with his wife and four children in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

  Tekst pochodzi z kwartalnika "Civitas Christiana" nr 4/2024

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