Who is St. Francis of Assisi?Wednesdays, September 16-November 18
St. Gregory the Great Msgr. Klasen Memorial Building, 1609 W Gregory 10 AM - 12PM or 6 PM - 8 PM *There are two sessions for this seminar; registrants will have the option of choosing the morning or evening class upon signing up. a weekly seminar led by Fr. Bob Sprott, OFM (scholar-in-residence) |
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No saint is as well-known and popular around the world as Francis of Assisi (1182-1226). It is hard to find a Catholic church that does not have a statue of him, his image graces everything from bird baths to gardens to pet stores. He is universally loved, although different people have been seeing very different things in his story for 800 years.
Who was St. Francis? How did his life and message transform Western Christianity in the second Millenium?
Who was St. Francis? How did his life and message transform Western Christianity in the second Millenium?
This seminar will work from the assumption that the best source for the life and spirit of Francis is the writings of the saint himself, and that the best interpreter of Francis was (and is) St. Bonaventure, the thirteenth century theologian and Minister General of the Franciscan Order. Bonaventure saw Francis as a prophetic figure, a paragon of the mystical life, the life that is hidden in Christ, and a pre-eminent teacher of how the human is transformed into the divine. The writings of these saints will be accompanied by biographies by G.K. Chesterton and historian Augustine Thompson.
Required Texts
Participants are responsible for acquiring books for the class.
- Francis and Clare: The Complete Works. Translated and introduced by Regis Armstrong, O.F.M., Cap. and Ignatius Brady, O.F.M. Paulist Press: The Classics of Western Spirituality. 1982. (ISBN 978-0809124466)
- Bonaventure: The Soul’s Journey into God, The Tree of Life, The Life of St. Francis. Translated and introduced by Ewert Cousins. Paulist Press: The Classics of Western Spirituality. 1978. (ISBN 978-0809121212)
- Francis of Assisi: The Life. Augustine Thompson, O.P. Cornell University Press. 2013. (ISBN 978-0801479069)
- St. Francis of Assisi. G. K. Chesterton. Any edition is fine. There are many available.
Participants are responsible for acquiring books for the class.
$100 suggested donation. Please RSVP by filling out the form below. Contact Mark Franzen with any questions.
*You can pay online or bring a check or cash to the class. Make checks payable to Mary, Mother of God Parish with "St. Gregory's Hall" in the memo line. All donations are used to cover program and staff-related expenses of St. Gregory's Hall. No funds are used for general Parish operating expenses.
*You can pay online or bring a check or cash to the class. Make checks payable to Mary, Mother of God Parish with "St. Gregory's Hall" in the memo line. All donations are used to cover program and staff-related expenses of St. Gregory's Hall. No funds are used for general Parish operating expenses.
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About our Seminar Leader
Fr. Bob Sprott, OFM, is a member of the Order of the Friars Minor. He holds a PhD in linguistics from the University of Chicago, and his work in ministry has led him to the American Southwest, working with Pueblo and Hispanic villages, the Canadian Arctic, working in the Diocese of Churchill-Hudson Bay, and Guatemala, teaching and providing spiritual direction at a minor seminary run by the Benedictine monks near the city of Quetzaltenango. In 2000 he returned to the U.S. and began ten years in Chicago, many of which were spent at St. Peter’s in the Loop. He has taught numerous adult education courses at the Newberry Library and at area parishes.
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