Original Letter from St. Francis to Brother Leo

This is one of the two autographs of Francis. It is kept as a relic in the cathedral church of Spoleto. It originally belonged to the Poor Clares of Spoleto, who donated it to the Friars Minor Conventuals of Spoleto in 1604. After the unification of Italy this precious document was lost, and it was only after 1895 that it was rediscovered and presented as an authentic autograph of St. Francis.

The Letter is a touching document, which gives witness to the brotherly concern of Francis for his "pecorella di Dio" Brother Leo. No wonder that the only two autographs of the saint, namely this letter and the parchment with the praises of God and the blessing, were dedicated to him.

Brother Leo was with the saint on Mount La Verna when Francis received the stigmata and he has left us a clear and simple account of that great miracle. This statement he wrote across the face of the autograph blessing which St. Francis had given him on La Verna, as a talisman against temptation, and which is still preserved at S. Francesco in Assisi. The text of, a letter written by the saint to Leo some time before is also extant. It is a word of tender encouragement and counsel to the "Frate Pecorello di Dio" (little brother sheep of God) as the Saint had named his faithful disciple because of his simplicity and tenderness. And one of the most golden chapters in the "Fioretti" (ch. vii) tells how St. Francis showed to Brother Leo "which things were perfect joy". Leo nursed his master during his last illness and as the saint lay dying it was he, together with Angelo) another favorite companion, who consoled Francis by singing the "Canticle of the Sun"

Leo had entered deeply into the bitter disappointments experienced by the saint during the last few years of his life, and soon after Francis's death he came into conflict with those whom he considered traitors to the Poverello and his ideal of poverty. Having protested against the collection of money for the erection of the basilica of San Francesco and having actually smashed the vase which Brother Elias had set up for contributions (see Ennis), Leo was whipped by order of Elias and expelled from Assisi.

Brother Leo's Cell in Eremo di Carceri

T