Saint Mary of the Portiuncula

Francis brought his little flock of twelve friars to St. Mary of the Portiuncula. It was there that the Order of the Friars Minor had been founded by the merits of the Mother of God, and it was there, too, that it would grow to maturity by her intercession.

From the Portiuncula, Francis set out as a herald of the Gospel to preach the kingdom of God in the towns and villages in the vicinity, "not in such words as human wisdom teaches, but in words taught him by the Spirit" (1 Cor 2:13).

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER IV