The feast of St. Francis on October 4 is one of my very favorite saint days to celebrate with children. From taking your pets to an animal blessing to making a pine cone bird feeder in honor of the (arguably crazy) man who preached even to birds, there’s no shortage of fun activities and larger than life stories to make St. Francis come alive for children.

While Francis’ devotion to all creatures great and small is a huge part of his legacy, focusing solely on it can have the unintended affect of domesticating and pigeonholing (pun intended) a man who clearly refused to be tamed and defied categorization.

While Francis was gentle, he was not docile: taking his father’s money to build a church, stripping naked in court, confronting a wolf, receiving the stigmata. These are not the actions of a sweet ordinary man who just happens to be a Christian Dr. Doolittle. Francis was bizarre and radical and there’s so much more to him than puppies and kittens.

One story that demonstrates Francis’ radically compassionate nature is his encounter with a leper before his dramatic conversion. I love the parallels between this story and Jesus’ encounters with lepers, and how it models compassion, empathy, and listening to the Holy Spirit. Below you’ll find a short lesson that can be modified for children between the ages of 2-10. If you’re familiar with Godly Play or Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, you’ll recognize the story and follow up questions follow a similar format. I also had to include the Francis coloring page because I love that it has his prayer printed on it—a great one for older kids and adults to memorize!

The Story

There once was a man named Francis. He was born a long time ago in Assisi, Italy around 1181. His father sold very beautiful and expensive clothes, and had lots of money to buy Francis anything he could ever want. Francis wore fancy clothes, and he went to big extravagant parties where there were long tables of delicious food and drink. Everyone danced and laughed all night without a care in the world.

But not everyone lived like Francis. In Francis’ town there were people called Lepers. Lepers had a terrible disease called leprosy—it caused them to have sores all over their body that were very painful and also very contagious. Nobody wanted to catch this disease, so they would stay far away from lepers. When people saw a leper on the street, they would turn and walk the other way. Absolutely no one touched a leper. One day, Francis was riding down the road and he saw a leper. He was terrified of getting the disease, so he quickly turned to go in the opposite direction. But as he turned, something stopped him. Francis remembered the story of Jesus healing a leper in the Bible, and he knew that he couldn’t just walk away. Francis felt compassion for this leper who had not been touched in years. He imagined what it would be like to have no one to hug you when you are sad, or pat your back when you are sick, or shake your hand to say hello— and he knew he could not simply walk away. Instead, Francis walked right over to the man, and kissed him! Then, Francis emptied his pockets and gave the leper all they money he had.

Francis left the man but he always remembered him. Not long after that, he devoted his life to serving the sick and the poor. Francis gave away all his fancy clothes and money. He had no home and he ate only what people gave him. Then he traveled around the country telling anyone who would listen—even animals—about Jesus’s love for them. He helped so many people and loved God so much that the church named him a saint. We know him today as St. Francis of Assisi.

Wondering Questions

Ask these questions curiously, and slowly, allowing time for children to respond, even if the pause feels awkward. You’ll notice they aren’t really questions, but “wondering sentences” that invite children to respond imaginatively to the story. Try to let their answers sit without correction or judgment.

I wonder who the leper was? I wonder if he had a family or friends?

I wonder how it felt to never be touched?

I wonder how the leper felt when Francis kissed him?

I wonder why Francis gave away all of his money and belongings?

I wonder if Francis ever missed his things after he gave them away?

I wonder if someone has ever helped you when you were sick or in need?

I wonder if you have ever helped someone like the leper who was sick or in need?

Closing Prayer

Loving God, help us to follow in the way of St. Francis by loving all of creation with our whole hearts and caring for those in need, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Going Deeper

Francis kissed the leper because he remembered the story of Jesus healing a leper in the Gospels. Read Mark 1:40-45, and discuss why Jesus healed the leper (1:41), and the similarities between the actions of Jesus and Francis.

Activity

St. Francis gave all he had to the poor—even the clothes off his back. Help your children go through their closet or toy chest and find things to give away.