As a religious family belonging to the Franciscan and moreover, Capuchin Family, Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) is the inspirer of our way of life. This man, who, in the, full middle ages, made the Gospel his only rule of life, launched to the world a new message that continues to have echo in every historical epoch.

Francis had before him a future that many young people of his time would have liked to have but, fascinated by Christ and his Gospel, he decided to “walk against the current”: while everyone dreamed to climb the social pyramid and become «major», he chose to share the life of the «minors” of the society and to live with them as a brother; while many of his friends were striving to enrich themselves, taking as an example «Christ and his poor Mother», he married «Lady Poverty», and while the winds of war were blowing around him, he wished everyone peace and goodness. Stripped of all for Christ’s sake, he clothed himself with the richness of faith, trust in Providence, humility and simplicity; he felt himself as a brother for all creatures and all that led him to live the perfect joy of the Gospel. Living in communion with the Lord, Francis was a contemplative man, able to look at the world with God’s eyes and to approach his brothers with an attitude of mercy.

These features of Francis of Assisi’s life and spiritual experience, that also characterized the life of Clare, the feminine face of Franciscanism, are the fundamental values of our life as consecrated women who have God as their only good (cf. Const. 2).