Saint Francis of Assisi - Engraved Holding Cross

Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1181 – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianity. In 1223, he arranged for the first Christmas live nativity scene. Pope Gregory IX canonized him on 16 July 1228. Francis later became associated with patronage of animals and the natural environment. It became customary for churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of 4 October. In 1219, he went to Egypt in an attempt to convert the sultan al-Kamil and put an end to the conflict of the Fifth Crusade. He founded the men's Order of Friars Minor, the women's Order of St.