I just Finished reading this wonderful little book!!

St Francis of Assisi and the Conversion of the Muslims

by Frank M Rega

Mr Rega dispels many myths in this book that have sprung up over the years surrounding St Francis.

Pope Pius XI stated in 1926, " What evil they do and how far from a true appreciation of the Man of Assisi are they who, in order to bolster up their fantastic and erroneous ideas about him, imagine such an incredible thing as that Francis was an opponent of the discipline of the Church, that he did not accept the dogmas of the Faith, that he was the precursor and prophet of that false liberty which began to manifest itself at the beginning of modern times and which has caused so many disturbaces both in the Church and civil society!"

I have to admit that my knowledge of St Francis was very limited. I'm sure that I did not have him in my top ten list, however I will accept only partial blame for this. Spending my formative years at Mass in the 80's trying to make myself a channel of peace and sowing love everywhere can give you a false impression of the guy. The St Francis I discovered was wise, prudent and fearless. St Francis supported and personally accompanied the Fifth Crusade in order to convert the Muslims. The meeting between the Sultan of Egypt and Francis is very interesting in light of events in our world today. Francis never directly attacked the religion of Mohammed but also never waivered in speaking the Truths of the Gospel. This is a very timely book which can serve as a guide for us today and St Francis would be happy to know that he now places in my Fav 5

St Francis Pray for Us!!