Plot Summary

In early-13th-century Assisi in Italian Umbria, the son of a rich merchant, Francesco Bernardone, returns ill from war. In his delirium, he goes back in his memories to the days when he lived for parties and carnal pleasures. Yet, the shadow of the cross that he sees in fever brings an end to his old life. The armor which he calls "my death mask" appears to be his final clothing of the old human. He slowly recovers, but after the illness he is no longer the Francesco that everybody knew. Instead of spending hours in taverns, he spends them in meadows; instead of drinking, he meditates on the beauty of God's creatures. He encounters a ruined little church where, from the old cross, Christ changes his life forever. Francesco renounces riches and his family and starts to rebuild the church as "il Poverello--the poorest of the poor." Soon, he gathers many people who are willingly built into a powerful new Spiritual Temple. Will the kingly Pope accept a new order of beggars and the poorest of the poor? Will the shining gold accept the inner treasure?—Marcin Kukuczka