About the holy man Brother Francis of Torri, Lay Friar

Brother Francis was from the land in Savina called Torri. He was born to honest parents. When he was young he applied himself to the arts of the farmer. However when he reached the age of about eighteen years, inspired by God he decided to leave the world and to serve God. Because he was used to suffering he said to himself, “If I have to leave the world, I want the strictest and poorest Order there is in order to do penance for my sins.”

As it pleased the God, when the Capuchin began his heart set on them and when he was told that they were at Saint Euphemia in Rome he immediately went to find them and Brother Louis of Fossombrone received him. He always led a life that was more angelic than human. He dedicated himself totally to despising his own self and in the Order carried out the lowliest duties. He served the Friars with great charity, especially the sick.

Once when he was in the friary of Collevecchio where there was one gravely ill Friar, the servant of God went with haste straight to Cività Castellana in order to see the doctor and taking with him the symptoms of the sick Friar. However when he arrived at the Tiber the boatman would not let him cross, saying that he wanted to be paid. He begged him with great humility and when said, “We are Religious and do not have money” the boatman still remain stubborn. Having nothing to give him the servant of God went aside and pulled off some patches that he had sewn to his habit. He gave them to him as payment for the passage. However not long after this the just retribution of God came upon him because when he wanted to cross over he fell in the Tiber and drowned. When they heard this all the other boatmen who made the crossing became very frightened and from then on allowed the Friars to cross over for the love of God. Many of them said, “I don’t want happening to me what happened to that one who did not want to give passage to those holy Friars and drowned.”

Brother Francis served the poor sick people with incredible love. He said, “I am not sure that everything I do in the Order please God. However when I try to help my neighbour in his needs I am very certain that this pleases the Lord God. Our Father Saint Francis laid the foundation with the work of charity when he served the lepers with such solicitude, even though they were often great sinners. The Lord often showed him that he liked this service especially when He appeared to him as a leper covered in sores. Now if it pleases Our Lord so much when we serve lepers and other sick people even though they may be sinners, how much more does it please him when we serve our sick Brothers who are Religious and servants of God?”

He also performed all the duties fitting for Lay Friars with great charity. He was also very kind towards his neighbour in serving everyone while being very austere towards himself. For he never wanted to wear more than one habit and he always went barefoot in summer and winter. He fasted almost continuously and often did the forty days on bread and water. He was a person of great prayer. He had from God the particular grace of perpetual silence and rarely let a word come from his lips. This enabled him to have a great tranquillity of mind so that he always had his mind raised in God. He said, “When I want to go to confession I rarely confess anything more than idle words and grumbling. However when I keep inward silence and external silence of words about the actions of my neighbour, I don’t know what I have to confess. In the Order it is a great battle to conquer the vice of grumbling. When we strive at prayer and other good works for a long period of time we don’t gain as much as we lose through grumbling. We endure many difficult things in the Order with very little fruit so as not to do violence to our wicked inclinations that always keep us involve in many defects. As a result from this soul cools in the fervour of its charity towards God and towards one’s neighbour. However we strive in vain if we do not know how to tame the poisonous serpent of the tongue. In the Order I have always had the desire to suffer for the love of Jesus Christ. Nonetheless I have understood that if my suffering does not result some way in honour for God of in the good of my neighbour it is worthless. What good is it for a Friar Minor to scourge his flesh, to fast and do other works of penance if he does not love God above everything and his neighbour as himself? The desire to mortify to mortify oneself and to be of benefit to ones neighbour was always rooted in the heart of this servant of God. So when he was in Rome he had such an extreme fervour to mortify himself that without saying anything to anyone he took off his habit, then just in his underwear he took a big cross and left the friary. In a very brief time he quickly went along all the main streets and squares of Rome with that cross on his shoulder, crying out with a loud voice, “Do penance, because Our Lord God is angry with us!” He terrified everyone. When he returned to the friary in that fervour the Father Guardian reprimanded him strongly. Then later when he was asked more personally what had moved him to do that excursion he answered that he was not aware of it, but that it had been a profusion of spirit. The Guardian decided not give him a penance for this, so as not to please him, because he desired nothing but to be put in prison for many months on bread and water.

It pleased the Lord God to wish to reward this servant of His for he became seriously ill. Well prepared and well armed with the most holy sacraments he passed over to his Creator. Amen.