1. Lecture 17: Francis and Dominic
Dr. Ann T. Orlando
30 October 2018

2. Spiritual Movements: New Orders
Franciscans
Dominicans
Both start as mendicants, very different from Benedictines
Not in a monastery
Vocation is among God’s people
Both approved by Innocent III
Augustinians and Carmelites

3. Franciscan Basilica Begun immediately after Francis’ death in 1226
One of Francis’ earliest followers supervised beginning of Basilica
Really two basilicas, an upper and a lower one
Site of Francis’ tomb
This is the ‘Mother House’ of Franciscan order
Many famous Italian artists, including Cimabue and Giotto, painted frescos

4. Assisi at the Time Francis was Born (1181)
Wealthy hill town in Tuscany
Francis’ father was a cloth merchant
Assisi was often at war with other nearby towns
Francis joined the Assisi troops as a young man and was captured in a skirmish with Perugia

5. Francis Begins His Spiritual Journey
After returning to Assisi in a prisoner exchange, Francis started to pray and look for a different way of life
He went to Rome on a pilgrimage and on returning stopped to pray at the deserted church of St. Damiano
A voice tells Francis to ‘rebuild my Church’
Francis used money from his father’s business to buy materials
His Father, angered by this, brought Francis before the bishop to be admonished
Francis stripped himself naked, saying he wanted nothing from his father
Francis starts to lead a mendicant life, saying he would be poor as Christ was poor

6. A Group Gathers Around Francis
Some people were shocked by Francis’ life-style
But some wanted to join him in his way of life
Francis’ holiness and gentleness with all God’s creatures led to many stories about Francis
Francis and the wolf of Gubbio
San Damiano became the Church for St. Clare and her followers, the ‘poor Clares’
Feast Day for St. Clare is August 11

7. Francis’ Spirituality
Total embrace of ‘Lady Poverty’, not ‘Lady Wisdom’ as way of life
Francis’ Rule emphasizes walking in poverty in the footsteps of Jesus;
Pilgrimage to Holy Land;
Met the sultan
Rules for Franciscans to live in Holy Land with Muslims
Emphasis on tangible religious experience:
Christmas crib
Stigmata as a sign of Francis’ identification with Jesus
Francis was most famous man in Europe in his lifetime; his order grew explosively
Poet: Canticle of the Sun, Prayer of St. Francis
Feast Day is Oct. 4

8. 800 Year Anniversary of Francis in Holy Land (Oct 2017)
Story is told by Francis’ first biographer, Thomas of Celano
Early Franciscan
Biography written at request of Pope Gregory IX in 1225, revised 1246
Francis met sultan in 1219
Given pass of safe conduct and right to protect Christian places and pilgrims

9. Franciscan Rule
Actually two Rules written by Francis, the Longer and the Shorter
Encourage mendicant lifestyle and adoption of complete poverty
Deemphasizes study, even literacy
Deemphasizes ecclesial offices
Rule revisions
Even before Francis dies, control of Franciscans is given to others
Franciscans become more organized, intellectual, wealthy

10. Franciscan ‘Schism’
Shortly after Francis dies, the order becomes conflicted about its future
‘Conventual’ Franciscans relax some aspects of Francis’ extreme poverty
‘Spiritual’ Franciscans continued to live as Francis had
Some become engaged in apocalyptic warnings
Followers of Joachim of Fiore ( ) and were deemed heretics

11. St. Dominic ( )
Born in Spain; he traveled to southern France to preach against the Albigensian heresy
Founded a school for French women
First order of Dominicans were nuns
Received permission from Innocent III to found an order of preachers to preach Catholic orthodoxy

12. Albiginsians Named for town of Albi, France where heresy was centered
Also known as ‘Cathars’ from Greek for pure
Beliefs
Two gods, one evil the other good
Material evil
Two classes of believers
Special knowledge given to believers

13. Dominican Spirituality
Rule based on Augustine’s Rule: clergy who lived together but worked among lay people
Also basis for other Medieval Orders
Dominican Rule emphasized study and preaching
Rosary was and remains especially important to Dominicans
Mary appeared to Dominic and gave him a rosary
Established the form the Rosary has today
Feast day is August 8

14. Dominicans in 13th C Order started as mendicants
Quickly became centered in cities and especially universities
Focused on education for lay and secular clergy

15. The Rosary
History of the Rosary as a popular devotion probably dates to around 10th C
Early use of prayer beads of varying lengths used by monks and others as an aid to meditation
Bead is from the old German word meaning “to pray”
Repetition of familiar prayers a way to move beyond immediate circumstances and enter into mysteries of faith

16. Mysteries of Rosary In early forms of rosary,
Varying numbers of decades,
Almost always a decade was 10 Hail Mary’s
The early practice was to use the decade as a way to remove oneself from immediate circumstances and enter into a particular mystery of the faith

17. Other Orders
Augustinians and Carmelites were both granted dispensations by Pope Innocent IV from degree of IV Lateran Council
Augustinians (Order of Hermits of St. Augustine)
Organized from a group of hermits living in northern Italy
Followed ‘Augustinian Rule’
Carmelites (Order of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel)
Claim to descend from followers of prophet Elias
Actual start seems to be around the Crusades, Christian hermits living on Mt. Carmel
Rule of St. Albert of Jerusalem c. 1210
Migrated to Europe in mid-13th C
Lay ‘third orders’ became very popular

18. Pope Innocent III (1160 – 1216) Born in Anagani, Italy
Studied at Universities of Rome, Paris and Bologna
Named Cardinal-Deacon by Pope Clement III
Elected Pope in 1198
Died in Rome, 1216

19. Key Points of Pontificate of Innocent III
Expanded role of papacy in secular affairs
Expanded Canon Law
Called the Fourth Crusade
Convened the Fourth Lateran Council
Approved Dominican and Franciscan orders

20. Innocent III and Western Politics
Resolved a disputed election of new HRE in ; wrote a decretal affirming:
German princes elect king, who will then be HRE
This right was given to German princes by the Holy See, which transferred Imperial title from Greeks to Charlemagne
If the Pope thinks the elected king unworthy, princes must elect someone else
If princes cannot agree on a king, Pope will select one
King John of England refused to accept Innocent's selection as Archbishop of Canterbury
Innocent places an interdict on England (no sacraments for population)
King of France threatens to invade England
John relents; and is placed in a very weakened position leading to Magna Carta
Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913: There was scarcely a country in Europe over which Innocent III did not in some way or other assert the supremacy which he claimed for the papacy.

21. The Lateran
Recall, site given by Constantine in 4th C to the Pope to be the Pope’s palace
Throughout the Middle Ages, Lateran was location of Curia and administrative offices
Vatican offices were developed by the Renaissance Popes
Part of rebuilding of St. Peter’s after fall of Constantinople 1453

22. First Three Lateran Councils
First Lateran (1123, Callistus II)
Reinforced Concordat of Worms
Forbade clergy and monks to marry or have concubines
Monks and others within a diocese had to obtain chrism oils from bishop
Second Lateran Council (1139, Innocent II)
Condemned marriage and concubines among clergy
Prohibited jousting and dueling
No bishopric left vacant more than three years
Kings to administer justice in consultation with ecclesial authorities
Third Lateran Council (1179, Alexander III)
Cardinal-bishops elect pope with 2/3 majority required
Forbade extortion of money for administration of sacraments

23. Fourth Lateran Council (1215)
Included Patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem (Latin)
Doctrine of transubstantiation (Canon 1)
Exhorted Greeks to reunite with Roman Church; only one shepherd of the Church (Canon 4)
Papal Primary, followed by Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem (Canon 5)
Forbade establishment of new religious orders (Canon 13)
Christians must confess their sins at least once per year (Canon 21)
Payment of tithes (Canon 54)
Jews and Muslims must wear special dress to distinguish them from Christians (Canons 78, 79)

24. Papacy after Innocent III
Time of increasing tension between popes and civil rulers
16 popes between 1216 – 1294 (Boniface VIII)
Including two multi-year periods without a pope
Selection of popes increasingly dependent on national interests of cardinals

25. Dies Irae Traditionally ascribed to Thomas Celano
Likely written by a 13th C Franciscan
Based on Zephaniah 1:15-16
One of the most important musical inventions of Western music

26. Assignment
Francis’ Rule, available at