Francis Assisi was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and preacher. He was born in 1182 to a prosperous silk merchant. He lived the life typical of a wealthy young man even fighting as a soldier for Assisi.
In 1204, on the eve of setting out for a battle, he experienced a vision which caused him to abandon his ambition for military glory and to espouse a life of poverty. Francis died on October 3,1226. On July 16,1228, he was pronounced a saint by Pope .Gregory IX and the next day, the Pope laid the foundation stone for the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.