When Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was named the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, he chose a name that had never before been used by a pope—Francis. As in, St. Francis of Assisi.

St. Francis is a singular figure in church history (which made it such a surprising choice for a papal name). He left behind all worldly possessions at the call of God and ended up leaving three new religious orders in his wake: The Order of Friars Minor, the Order of Saint Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis. I’ve read about St. Francis before—in The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi and Robert West’s biography.

The reason I picked up a third book on this Saint was because of the biographer: G. K. Chesterton. Indeed, this slim volume is as much about Chesterton and his perspective as it is about Francis himself! In most cases, this would be a drawback. Not in this case. Chesterton is always worth reading.

For Chesterton, Francis marked the beginning of a new era for the church. Greco-Roman paganism had finally been excised from the world along with the radical asceticism of the desert fathers. Francis offers the church a fresh start as he looks anew at the created order in wonder.

He opened the gates of the Dark Ages as a prison of purgatory, where men had cleansed themselves as hermits in the desert or heroes in the barbarian wars. It was in fact his whole function to tell men to start afresh and, in that sense, to tell them to forget. (152)

Chesterton’s trademark incisive wit is evident throughout this volume. Consider how he wrestles with the rationality of Francis’ miracles:

Whether a man believes that fire in one case could fail to burn depends on why he thinks it generally does burn. If it burns nine sticks out of ten because it is its nature or doom to do so, then it will burn the tenth stick as well. If it burns nine sticks because it is the will of God that it should, then it might be the will of God that the tenth should be unburned. Nobody can get behind that fundamental difference about the reason of things; and it is as rational for a theist to believe in miracles as for an atheist to disbelieve them. (139)

For Chesterton, as for Francis, the tenth stick burns (or not) at the will of God. It is this unique view of rationality that sets Chesterton apart from his modernist milieu and gives him the perspective to understand Francis aright.

Chesterton, G. K. St. Francis of Assisi. 1928. Image Books, 1957.