The Testament of Saint Francis

(1) This is how the Lord gave me, Brother Francis, the grace to begin doing penance. When I was still in sin, the sight of lepers was unbearable to me. (2) But the Lord himself led me among them; I cared for them with all my heart; (3) and on my return, what had seemed so bitter to me had turned into sweetness for my spirit and body. Then I waited a little while, and I said goodbye to the world.

(4) And the Lord gave me great faith in the churches, a faith that I expressed in the simple prayer: (5) We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, in all your churches throughout the world, and we bless you for redeeming the world through your holy Cross.

(6) Then the Lord gave me, and still gives me, because of their priestly character, such great faith in priests who live according to the rule of the Holy Roman Church that, even if they persecuted me, I would still want to have recourse to them. (7) If I had as much wisdom as Solomon, and if I happened to meet poor little priests living in sin, I would not preach in their parishes if they refused me permission. (8) I want to respect, love, and honor them and all others as my lords. (9) I do not want to consider sin in them, for it is the Son of God that I discern in them, and they are truly my lords.

(10) I do this because I see nothing of the most high Son of God in this world except his most holy Body and Blood, which the priests receive and of which they alone are ministers. (11) I want this most holy sacrament to be honored above all else, venerated, and kept in places adorned with precious objects. (12) And the most holy names of the Lord, and the manuscripts containing his words, whenever I find them abandoned where they should not be, I want to collect them, and I pray that they be collected, to place them in a more worthy place. (13) All theologians, and those who communicate to us the most holy words of God, we must honor and venerate them as those who communicate to us the Spirit and Life.

(14) After the Lord gave me brothers, no one showed me what I should do, but the Most High himself revealed to me that I should live according to the Holy Gospel. (15) So I had a text written in a few simple words, and the Lord Pope approved it. (16) Those who came to us to share this life distributed to the poor whatever they could have; for clothing they were content with a single tunic, lined with pieces as they wished inside and outside, plus a cord and breeches. (17) And we wanted nothing more.

(18) We celebrated the office: the clerics, like other clerics, and the lay people by reciting the Our Father. And we were very happy to spend long periods of time in churches. (19) We were simple people, and we made ourselves available to everyone. (20) I worked with my hands, and I want to work; and I firmly want all the brothers to engage in honest work. (21) Those who do not know how to work should learn, not for the greedy desire to receive wages, but to set a good example and to drive away idleness. (22) When we are not given the price of our labor, let us resort to the Lord's table, begging for our food from door to door. (23) As a greeting, the Lord has revealed to me that we should say, "May the Lord give you peace!"

(24) The brothers shall be careful not to accept, under any pretext, churches, huts, or anything else that might be built for them, unless they are only staying there as passing guests, pilgrims, and strangers, in accordance with the holy poverty we have promised in the Rule.

(25) I formally forbid, in the name of obedience, all the brothers, wherever they may be, to ever dare to solicit from the court of Rome, either by themselves or through any intermediary, any privilege under any pretext whatsoever; for a church or for a residence, to secure a preaching assignment or to protect themselves against persecution. (26) If they are not received in one region, then let them flee to another to do penance with God's blessing.

(27) I want to obey firmly the Minister General of this brotherhood and any guardian he may give me. (28) I want to be so bound to him that I cannot take a step or do anything outside of his orders and will, for he is my lord. (29) Although I am a simple man and sick, I nevertheless want to always have a cleric who celebrates the office for me, as is marked in the Rule.

(30) All the other brothers are to obey their guardian in this way and celebrate the office according to the Rule. (31) If there are any who do not celebrate the office according to the Rule and wish to make changes to it, or who are not Catholic, then all the brothers, wherever they may be, shall be bound by obedience, wherever they meet one of these, to send him to the custodian nearest to the place where they met him. (32) The custodian shall be strictly bound, by virtue of obedience, to keep him as a prisoner, day and night, without letting him escape from his hands until he can present him in person to his minister. (33) The minister, in turn, shall be strictly obliged, by virtue of obedience, to have him accompanied by brothers as a prisoner, day and night, until he is brought before the Cardinal of Ostia, who is the master, protector, and corrector of the entire brotherhood.

(34) Let the brothers not say: This is a new Rule! No: it is a return to our past, an admonition, an exhortation, and it is the testament that I, your little brother Francis, address to you, my blessed brothers, so that we may observe more catholically the Rule that we have promised the Lord to keep. (35) The Minister General, the other ministers, and the custodians are bound by obedience not to add or take away anything from these words. (36) Let them always have this text with them, attached to the Rule. (37) In all the chapters they hold, let them also have this text read after the reading of the Rule.

(38) To all my clerical and lay brothers, I firmly prescribe, by virtue of obedience, not to make any glosses on the Rule or on these words, saying: This is how they should be understood! (39) No: just as the Lord has given me to say and write the Rule and these words purely and simply, so you too, simply and without gloss, must understand them and put them into practice through holy actions until your last day.

(40) Whoever observes these things, may he be blessed in heaven by the blessing of the Most High Father, may he be filled on earth with the blessing of his beloved Son, with that of the Most Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, with all the Virtues of heaven and all the saints. (41) And I, Brother Francis, your little poor one and servant, to the extent that I am able, confirm this most holy blessing to you, both inwardly and outwardly.