The happy latecomers: Feast of Our Father Saint Francis.
- Services provinciaux
- Oct 2
- 2 min read
“I left Perugia in beautiful weather, and very happy to find myself alone. (…) The road descended at first, then entered a joyful valley, narrowed on both sides by distant hills, until finally Assisi spread out before me.”
(Goethe, Journey to Italy, §211, October 25, 1786)
Goethe admired the Umbrian landscape, but felt no need to meet Francis. For me, on the contrary, it was the saint who drew me to these paths. We were a small group of brothers, leaving Perugia early in the morning for a day's walk to the city of Francis. Ill-prepared, I moved slowly. Twenty-five kilometers... phew! What a bad idea I had had that morning! Anyone who walks in fraternity knows that some move quickly, while others struggle to keep up. But it is often among these "stragglers" that funny stories and bursts of laughter are born, to the point that the frontrunners, at first impatient, also end up slowing down to catch up with the joyful stragglers. One does not choose one's traveling companions lightly.
I sometimes wonder if Francis, in gathering his first brothers, did not have the same experience: learning to wait, to encourage, to walk at the pace of the slowest. This seems to me to be the case, for shortly before his death, he asked his brothers that after his last breath, they place him naked on the bare earth and let him rest there "long enough for one to be able to walk a thousand steps in peace" (2C, 217). As if Francis measured his time in units of slow steps. Let us imagine a Franciscan clock whose second hand marked the peaceful rhythm of a leisurely walk!
It is often among these "stragglers" that funny stories and bursts of laughter are born, to the point that the first, initially impatient, also end up slowing down to join the happy latecomers.
On this feast day of Saint Francis, this memory inspires me to reflect on fraternity. From its beginnings, the Franciscan fraternity was not composed of men from the same background. They came from all walks of life: rich and poor, educated and simple. Yet, as they walked with Francis in the footsteps of the crucified Christ, they found a common rhythm. The long walks through valleys and hills taught them patience, solidarity, and the joy of being brothers together.
Even today, this testimony of fraternity retains all its power. In a world that values speed and performance, Francis reminds us that fraternity is built on shared slowness. The true mission is not to run ahead or to seek to arrive first, but to walk together, welcoming the sometimes hesitant steps of each person. Only God knows how much grace we will need to achieve this. May this feast of Saint Francis rekindle in us the taste for a simple and demanding fraternity.
Happy Feast of Francis,
Brother Benny Vincent, OFMCap.
Provincial Minister
October 2, 2025
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