Back to Italy!

IT WAS the evening of October 3, 1226. We do not know exactly where in France Anthony was at that moment. On that evening, several hundred kilometers further east, in the midst of his beloved Assisi, Francis was celebrating for the last time a kind of ‘farewell liturgy’. Surrounded by his brothers, he had just blessed the city of his birth, and had been carried to the nearby Portiuncula. Shortly before his death Francis had expressed the wish to be buried naked in the bare earth. That night Francis would close his eyes for the last time, eyes which had become almost completely blind, and which for a long time had not been able to bear, due to pain, the lovely light of the sun.

On that evening a difficult, but immensely rich life had come to an end. Even though Anthony was not present, he would have almost certainly known that the health of his great brother had been in a poor state for a long time, and that he had been drawing nearer to ‘Brother Death’. However, Anthony only got to know about Francis’ death from the circular letter which the Order’s vicar-general, Elias of Cortona, had sent to all the friars in positions of responsibility.

Francis’ legacy

Amid the mourning, it was obvious that Francis had left behind a gap which would never be filled. As had been provided for by the Rule, Elias of Cortona, as the acting leader of the friars’ community, summoned the Order’s General Chapter for Pentecost, May 30, 1227, at the Portiuncula near Assisi. During this Pentecost chapter the friars were to meet in Assisi to choose a “successor” and to think about how the movement should develop “after Francis.”

What had the news of Francis’ death triggered in Anthony? Mourning and apprehension without a doubt, along with worries about how the initial enthusiasm of the Franciscan movement, the deep commitment characteristic of its foundation, would now be maintained. What we must not forget above all is that Francis and Anthony’s paths had seldom crossed. Of course, there was the short letter that Anthony had received from Francis, but the two may never have actually met physically. We know that both participated in the very important General Chapter in Assisi in 1221, the so-called Chapter of Mats. Whether they exchanged glances or words on that occasion is unknown.

Church of St George

We know that Anthony returned to Italy for the General Chapter at the Portiuncula of 1227, but we don’t know exactly when Anthony travelled back from France, nor what kind of journey he made. Dates and information concerning these events are highly controversial. One image, however, may legitimately be held as realistic: Anthony mourning at Saint Francis’ Tomb. A scene which would have played out in the Church of Saint George in Assisi. It was here that Francis had been laid to rest, and his Tomb had already become the destination for many pilgrims!

As the 1227 General Chapter drew near, many brothers travelled long distances to attend it, and, I am sure, many had come to give their own very personal farewell to Francis, for on his death they had been far away in Spain, Portugal, France (like Anthony), Germany and in many other places. Once again, a question arises: what did they feel as they stood beside the tomb? What thoughts and emotions passed through their minds and bodies? There in front of them lay the man to whom they owed so much for different reasons. There in front of them lay the man who had brought the Gospel into their lives in a radical way, and had upset so many well-planned futures; Anthony himself is a perfect example of this.

Sine glossa

The items on the General Chapter’s agenda were clear and urgent: a successor had to be chosen, and decisions on the community’s future and final goal also had to me made. All of these considerations had to be made under the lingering spiritual presence of the great and holy Francis, which was neither an easy nor a pleasant task for the participants, especially for the newly-elected Minister General. Everybody understood that the new Minister General would have to come out of the impressive shadow of the movement’s founder and be his own person. The whole venture was made even more difficult because Francis, shortly before his death, had written another testament in which he had drummed it into his brothers that in the future they had to follow the Rule sine glossa, that is, without speculating about its meaning, without changing it, without the smallest deviation from it, and without weakening or adapting it to circumstances. This was the background and climate under which the Chapter took place. Anthony, being the ambassador and the friar responsible for the brothers in France, took part.

John Parenti

The new leader, Francis’ successor, was soon recognized and elected: the community chose John Parenti, who thus became the Order’s first Minister General. Don’t forget that Anthony knew him very well! Brother John had been Provincial Minister in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) when Anthony, then still called Ferdinand, joined the Franciscans. John had thus been Anthony’s first superior in his new Order. Anthony, however, did not stay in Assisi for long after the Chapter – his own life was also moving on.

Anthony himself became a Provincial Minister: he was chosen to look after the Province of Romagna. Whether this was at the suggestion of the new Minister General or of another friar from the council of leaders, we do not know.

New tasks

Since the 1221 General Chapter Anthony had become quite clearly experienced and well-suited for these new duties; he no longer gave the impression that he was of no use! Nevertheless, it should be underlined that the Province of Romagna was huge, and involved an enormous amount of work – the last and greatest for Anthony’s third period of preaching. This province, in fact, stretched from Genoa in the west to Milan in the north; from Bologna in the south to Venice and Padua in the north-east. This province was so large that it would later, in 1239, be split into four smaller provinces following a re-organization of the Order’s structure. Thus, four provincials would later be responsible for the area which was now Anthony’s!

The tasks expected of him meant that the Saint of Padua could hardly complain of having little to do. He was constantly travelling, visiting the Order’s friaries and settlements, setting up new friaries and posts, carrying out his apostolic preaching duties in the area, and being drawn into the questions, problems and disagreements created by others. Our Saint had become, exactly as Francis before him, his ‘brothers' keeper’. This was certainly not a ‘desk job’, and did not involve being in the centre controlling the Order’s power and moving the brothers like pawns on a chess board.

Many of the places Anthony knew well were in his new province: Montepaolo, Forlì and Bologna, plus a new one, the city of Padua, which would become his preferred place of residence, to the point that his name would forever become associated with this city.

MINISTER GENERAL

John Parenti, also known as Giovanni Parenti, was born in the late 12th century, likely in the region of Florence, Italy. Parenti initially worked as a lawyer, but he joined the Franciscans around 1211, inspired by the teachings and example of St. Francis of Assisi. He quickly became a devoted and respected member of the order. Following the death of St. Francis in 1226, the Franciscans faced the challenge of preserving the founder’s vision while managing the practicalities of a rapidly expanding organization.

In 1227, during the General Chapter of the Franciscans, John Parenti was elected as the first Minister General of the Order. In that capacity Parenti was tasked with leading the Franciscans through a period of significant growth and transformation. His background as a lawyer helped him navigate the complex administrative and legal issues that arose as the order expanded across Europe.

John Parenti’s leadership focused on maintaining the spiritual and ascetic ideals of St. Francis while also addressing the needs of a growing community. He emphasized the importance of adherence to the Franciscan Rule, and worked to ensure that the order remained faithful to its foundational principles of poverty, humility, and service.

Parenti served as Minister General until 1232, after which he was succeeded by Brother Elias. Despite the challenges he faced, John Parenti’s tenure as Minister General was marked by his commitment to upholding the vision of St. Francis and his efforts to guide the order through a crucial period in its early history.