Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace: St. Francis at the United Nations

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 6:48 pm by Kathy Schiffer

Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace: St. Francis at the United Nations 2014-12-26T18:48:07-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

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People in the small town of Gubbio, Italy, lived in fear. A ferocious wolf lived in the countryside near the town, and the wolf had attacked the townspeople so that they were afraid to leave their homes. Frightened that the wolf would kill their children or themselves, the people of Gubbio turned to St. Francis, known as a peacemaker, to intervene.

According to legend, Francis went out to meet the wolf with no weapons, only the message of the Gospel. Francis quietly spoke to the wolf, calling upon him to repent for the harm he had caused. He promised that if the wolf would not attack the townspeople, they would feed him for the rest of his life. The wolf obeyed, and from that time forward the people of Gubbio were safe.

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St. Francis the peacemaker is being remembered this month at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, where an exhibition of the saint’s papers opened on Monday, November 17.

Titled “Francis, icons, words, images”, the exhibition includes recently restored manuscripts from the library of the Sacred Convent at Assisi which have never been outside of Italy, and which date from the 13th and 14th centuries. Of particular interest is the 13th century Codex 338 which contains Francis’ own writings, including his famous poetic and spiritual masterpiece Canticle of the Creatures. Also on display are papal Bulls of Honorius III and Gregory IX.

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, opened the exhibit on Monday. Archbishop Auza said to Vatican Radio,

“Bringing to New York these priceless documents has been extremely difficult and costly. So, why are we doing this? We think it’s worth all the effort, because we believe that the values practiced and preached by Saint Francis are also the fundamental values of the United Nations–namely peace, the harmonious development of peoples in brotherhood and the love for nature. Without these values, we have wars and conflicts, injustices and all forms of slavery, environmental crises and disasters.”

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Archbishop Auza then hinted that perhaps Pope Francis, when he visits the U.S. in September 2015 to attend the World Meeting of Families, might also come to the United Nations. “Wouldn’t this evening’s event be such a happy occasion,” he said,

“… were these precious manuscripts on Saint Francis a harbinger of the visit to the United Nations of him who carries the Saint’s name.”

He explained that the Pope chose the name Francis precisely for these Franciscan core values of peace, fraternity of peoples and love for nature.

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