Brothers Juniper, Philip, Moricus and Bernard      Brothers Silvester, Rufino, Masseo, Leo and Giles

              (and two of the Franciscan proto-martyrs)              (and one of the Franciscan proto-martyrs)

Frescoes (ca. 1514) by Giovanni di Pietro, lo Spagna, Cappella del Transito, Santa Maria degli Angeli

The first followers of St Francis (from ca. 1209) included Brothers Bernard of Quintavalle, Peter Catanii, Giles, Philip and Moricus.  These men were almost certainly among the eleven (or perhaps twelve) brothers who travelled with St Francis to Rome in ca. 1209 to seek papal approval for their proposed way of life.  The elderly Sylvestor, a canon of San Rufino, joined St Francis soon after, and was the first priest to do so.

Brother Masseo was with St Francis when he received the Portiuncula Indulgence from Pope Honorius III in 1216; Brothers Illuminato and Peter Catanii accompanied him on his mission to the Saracens at Damietta of 1219-20; and he appointed Brother Peter Catanii as his Vicar when he relinquished administrative control of the Order in 1220.

Brothers Leo, Rufino and Illuminato were with St Francis on Mount la Verna when he received the stigmata in 1224.  He spent the following last two years of his life weighed down by infirmity, and was cared for by four brothers “who ... were very dear to him”.  These seem to have been Brothers Leo, Rufino, Angelo and John de Laudibus.

When Peter Catanii died in 1221, St Francis chose Brother Elias as “mother to himself and ... father to the other brothers”.  Brothers Rufino, John de Laudibus and Elias were privileged to see the wound in St Francis’ side before he died.  Brother Elias received a special blessing from the dying S Francis before the brothers carried him from Palazzo Vescovile to the Portiuncula.

Many of these companions of St Francis survived him by a number of decades, and they became important sources for information about him.  In particular, Brothers Leo, Rufino and Angelo wrote the the so-called  “Legend of the Three Companions” (see below) in 1246.

Tombs in San Francesco

Brother Ludovico da Pietralunga, writing in ca. 1575, described the inscriptions on three tombs associated with altars in what was originally the friars’ choir in the lower church:

1. ✴the inscription near the Altare di San Giovanni Evangelista in the left transept, which was associated with a now-lost fresco and grate, identified:
   

2. •Brother Leo;
   

3. •Brother Masseo;
   

4. •Brother Rufino; and
   

5. •Brother Angelo.
   

6. These remains were moved from their original tomb in the left transept to the crypt in 1934.
   

7. 

   ✴the inscription near the Altare di Santa Maria Immaculata in the right transept, which was associated with the fresco and grate illustrated above, identified four of the five who were apparently buried here:
   

8. •Brother Bernard of Quintavalle;
   

9. •Brother Sylvester;
   

10. •Brother William of England; and
    

11. •Brother Electus.
    

12.  
    

13. ✴the standing figure to the left in the fresco above was apparently Brother John of England (died ca. 1247), who was buried under the nearby Altare di Santa Elisabetta.
    

The inscription provided more information on two of these early friars:

1. ✴When miracles occurred at the tomb of Brother William of England, Brother Elias asked him to desist out of reverence for St Francis.
   

2. ✴Brother Electus apparently predicted that Cardinal Pierre de Colmieu “will die here, today”.  The Chronicle of the XXIV Generals (1375) recorded that the cardinal did indeed die in the Sacro Convento, when a beam fell on him after its consecration in 1253.  (Franciscan sources denounced the slander that this had happened because he detested their order).  Brother Electus presumably died shortly thereafter.
   

Short Biographies

The most important of these friars are discussed below, except for the Blessed Giles, who is described in the page on saints of Perugia.

Brother Angelo

Brother Angelo joined St Francis shortly after the early form of life received papal approval in ca. 1208.   He was a priest, and shared a breviary with St Francis and Brother Leo (see below).  He was one of the four brothers who were close to St Francis during his last illness. 

Brothers Angelo, Leo and Rufino submitted the material that was later compiled as the  “Legend of the Three Companions” (see below) to the Minister General in 1246, and it served as an important source for later legends of St Francis. 

Brothers Angelo and Leo were present when St Clare died at San Damiano in 1253, and both of them served on the commission that conducted the process for her canonisation. 

Brother Angelo died in ca. 1258 and was buried in the left transept of the lower church of San Francesco.  The inscription near this tomb apparently recorded that he had been a knight before he joined the Order.

Brother Bernard of Quintavalle

An inscription on the house at number 10 Via Bernardo da Quintavalle (see Walk II) identifies it as once having belonged to Brother Bernard.

Brother Illuminato

Brother Illuminato accompanied St Francis on his mission to the Saracens at Damietta of 1219-20.  He was also present on Mount la Verna when St Francis received the stigmata in 1224.  He died in ca. 1266, in an unknown location.

Brother John de Laudibus (John of Lauds)

He was one of the four brothers who were close to St Francis during his last illness, and he was privileged to see the wound in St Francis’ side before he died.  Brother John died in 1266 and was buried at (according to various sources) Acquasparta or Bittoni.

Brother Juniper

Brother Juniper joined St Francis in ca. 1210.  He was sent to establish "places" for the friars in Gualdo Tadino and Viterbo.  When St Clare was dying (in 1253), she took great comfort from the preaching of Brother Juniper, who is described in the Legend of St Clare as “that excellent jester of the Lord”.  He died in Rome in 1258 and was buried in the friars’ church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli there.

Brother Leo

Brother Leo, who was probably born at Assisi, joined St Francis shortly after the early form of life received papal approval in ca. 1208, when he was probably already a priest.   He acted as secretary and confessor to St Francis from ca. 1220, and was with him:

1. ✴when he retired to Fonte Colombo in order to seek divine inspiration for what became known as the Regula Bullata (1223); and
   

2. ✴on Mount la Verna when he received the stigmata in 1224. 
   

He was one of the four brothers who were close to St Francis during his last illness. 

Brother Leo owned two precious documents written by St Francis, the only examples of his handwriting that survive:

                     St Francis’ blessing of Brother Leo                Letter from St Francis to Brother Leo

                       Chapter Room, Sacro Convento                 Cappella delle Reliquie, Duomo, Spoleto

                             

1. ✴a blessing for Brother Leo that St Francis wrote after the stigmatisation, which Brother Leo subsequently annotated; and
   

2. ✴a letter that St Francis wrote to him some time thereafter, addressed to "Frate Pecorello di Dio" (brother little sheep of God), which ends memorably: “And if you need and want to come to me for the sake of your soul or for some consolation, Leo, come.”
   

He also owned the breviary that St Francis shared with him and with Brother Angelo (presumably after 1223, when the Regula Bullata permitted this).  Leo used it long after the death of St Francis, and was careful to keep it up-to-date.  He annotated it to describe its association with St Francis before entrusting it to Sister Benedetta, the Abbess of Santa Chiara.  (Since the earthquake of 1997, it has been kept at the Convento di Monteripido, Perugia).

Brothers Leo and Angelo were present when St Clare died at San Damiano in 1253, and both of them served on the commission that conducted the process for her canonisation.  It is clear from a letter that St Bonaventure, the Minister General, wrote to the sisters at Santa Chiara in 1259 that Brother Leo remained a firm supporter of the Poor Ladies even after the death of St Clare.  

Brother Leo outlived St Francis by about 50 years, and was one of the last of the early brothers to die.   Together with Brothers Angelo and Rufino, he submitted the material to the Minister General in 1246, and it served as an important source for later legends of St Francis.  His recollections were particularly important for the zelanti in the early 14th century.  (For more detail, see the page on the Hagiography of St Francis). 

Brother Leo seems to have written a legend of the Blessed Giles:  for example, Brother Salimbene de Adam recorded in his “Chronicle” (1283-80) that: “Brother Giles ... lies in a stone tomb in the church of the Brothers [at Perugia].  His life has been written by Brother Leo, one of the three special companions of St Francis”.

Brother Leo died in the 1270s (possibly as late as 1278) and was buried in the left transept of the lower church of San Francesco. 

Brother Masseo

Brother Masseo joined St Francis shortly after the early form of life received papal approval in ca. 1208.  He died in 1280 and was buried in the left transept of the lower church of San Francesco.  The inscription near this tomb recorded that he was with St Francis when he received the Portiuncula Indulgence from Pope Honorius III in Perugia in 1216

Brother Moricus

A man called Moricus was among the small group that accompanied him to Rome in ca. 1209 to secure papal approval for what was to become the Franciscan Order.

A man of the same name, who might have been the same person, belonged originally to the Order of Crosiers at San Salvatore delle Pareti and  worked in the hospice there that St Francis would have often passed as he walked from Assisi to the Portiuncula (from left to right in the photograph above, which is taken from the site of the hospice).  It is therefore not surprising that he made the acquaintance of Moricus.  When Moricus fell ill, St Francis sent him a remedy that cured him.  Moricus then became a follower of St Francis.  This friar is depicted in a fresco in San Ventura, Spello (which originally belonged to the Order of Crosiers), identified as MORICUS DE MORICCHELLIS HISPELLA; EX CRUCIFER (i.e. he is claimed to have come from Spello).

A friar called Moricus died ca. 1236 and was possibly buried in the tomb in the right transept of the lower church San Francesco.  Another friar of this name seems to have died at about the same time at San Pietro in Vetere, Orvieto.

Brother Peter Catanii

Brother Peter was among the small group that accompanied St Francis to Rome in ca. 1209 to secure papal approval for what was to become the Franciscan Order.  He accompanied St Francis on his mission to the Saracens at Damietta of 1219-20, and St Francis appointed him as his Vicar when he relinquished administrative control of the Order in 1220.  Brother Peter lived at the Portiuncula and died there in 1221.  His monument is the external left wall church. 

Brother Philip

Brother Philip was among the small group that accompanied St Francis to Rome in ca. 1209 to secure papal approval for what was to become the Franciscan Order.  He served as visitor to the Poor Ladies of San Damiano in 1219-20, during St Francis’ absence in Damietta, and secured privileges for them of which St Francis disapproved.  He served in this capacity again in 1228-46.  He died in Perugia in ca. 1259.

Brother Rufino

Rufino (who appears with the surnames Scifi , Cipii or di Scipone di Ofreducio) seems to have been a cousin of St Clare.  He was with on St Francis on Mount la Verna when he received the stigmata in 1224.  He was one of the four brothers who were close to St Francis during his last illness, and he was privileged to see the wound in St Francis’ side before he died. 

Brothers Angelo, Leo and Rufino submitted the material that was later compiled as the  “Legend of the Three Companions” (see above) to the Minister General in 1246, and it served as an important source for later legends of St Francis. 

Brother Angelo died in ca. 1278 and was buried in the left transept of the lower church of San Francesco.

Brother Sylvester

Brother Sylvester, a canon of San Rufino, was already elderly when he joined St Francis, and was the first priest to do so.  He died in ca. 1240 and was buried in the right transept of the lower church of San Francesco.

Brother William of England

Brother William of England was a friend of Matthew Paris.  [More] 

He moved to Assisi and became an early follower of St Francis.  He died in 1232 and was buried in the right transept of the lower church of San Francesco.  The inscription near this tomb recorded that the miracles occurred at his tomb until Brother Elias (see above) asked William to desist out of reverence for St Francis.