An intriguing examination of the extraordinary–and little known meeting between St. Francis of Assisi and Islamic leader Sultan Malik Al-Kamil that has strong resonance in today's divided world. For many of us, St. Francis of Assisi is known as a poor monk and a lover of animals. However, these images are sadly incomplete, because they ignore an equally important and more challenging aspect of his life -- his unwavering commitment to seeking peace. In The Saint and the Sultan, Paul Moses recovers Francis' s message of peace through the largely forgotten story of his daring mission to end the crusades. In 1219, as the Fifth Crusade was being fought, Francis crossed enemy lines to gain an audience with Malik al-Kamil, the Sultan of Egypt. The two talked of war and peace and faith and when Francis returned home, he proposed that his Order of the Friars Minor live peaceably among the followers of Islam–a revolutionary call at a moment when Christendom pinned its hopes for converting Muslims on the battlefield. The Saint and the Sultan captures the lives of St. Francis and Sultan al-Kamil and illuminates the political intrigue and religious fervor of their time. In the process, it reveals a startlingly timely story of interfaith conflict, war, and the search for peace. More than simply a dramatic adventure, though it does not lack for colorful saints and sinners, loyalty and betrayal, and thrilling Crusade narrative, The Saint and the Sultan brings to life an episode of deep relevance for all who seek to find peace between the West and the Islamic world. Winner of the 2010 Catholic Press Association Book Award for History

Here, two practitioners of interfaith dialogue provide readers with a guide for Catholics and Muslims to reach greater mutual understanding and work for social justice.

Full of new impressions, Francis returned to Italy from his visit to the Sultan. For the first time in his life, he had come into contact with a very different religion and culture. It had touched him profoundly. That would never have been possible if he had gone to the Middle East with the mentality of a crusader and had allowed his judgement to be clouded by all the prejudices that the Christian world harboured regarding Muslims. However, he had gone with a very different mind-set. His intention was to go and live among the Muslims in service, solidarity and peace -in the spirit of Jesus. This enabled him to look at Muslims from a different point of view, entirely new to him - with new eyes and from a fresh, more open perspective. Christian-Muslim prayer-ecumenism for peace A reading of the texts Francis wrote after his sojourn in the Middle East makes it clear that this sojourn had made a profound impression on him. Especially characteristic of this is how greatly Francis, as he approached the Muslims with his positive and peaceful attitude, had come to admire their religious practice. This stands out particularly in the first letters he sent out shortly after his return to Italy. He had noticed the respect that Muslims have for their holy book, the Koran, and their devotion to the 99 Beautiful Names for God. This gave him the idea to call on the clergy to respect not only the Eucharist - in keeping with the decisions of the Fourth Lateran Council and papal directives - but also to have an equal reverence and devotion for 'the written most holy names and words of the Lord'

Francis of Assisi is Catholicism's most popular saint. Tens of millions of spiritual seekers summon his name and example. But the real Francis-both his complicated personality and his complex theology-have been misunderstood for centuries. In 1228, Pope Gregory IX rushed to canonize St. Francis only two years after his death. Soon thereafter, the Church eliminated significant aspects of his biography from the public record. For Francis's early life was defined by his profligacy; shortly before dying, Francis himself warned his brothers: "Don't be too quick to canonize me. I am perfectly capable of fathering a child." In A Mended and Broken Heart, journalist Wendy Murray slices through the bowdlerized version of Francis's life promoted within the Catholic tradition and reveals instead a saint who was in every way also a real man. Murray stresses in particular the crucial but completely neglected role that Clare of Assisi played in Francis's life, both pre- and postconversion, and his theology. A profoundly humane portrait of a misunderstood saint, A Mended and Broken Heart makes a powerful case that St. Francis's life and thought make him a role model for religious seekers of every faith.

Describes in gripping detail St. Francis’ historic efforts to convert the Sultan of Egypt to the Catholic faith. Discusses St. Francis’ approach to ecumenism and the conversion of other religions to Catholicism. Also includes a comprehensive biography of St. Francis and his dynamic reform of the Church.

September 11, 2001, highlighted the urgent need for greater understanding among religious traditions. Specifically, the lack of acceptance and appreciation between Muslims and Christians was suddenly catapulted into headlines around the world. Now, in the aftermath of war in Iraq, the need for understanding and respect among religious traditions and various cultures becomes ever more important. It is my hope that this book might nurture that mutual respect that fosters peace and justice, for they are God's desire for us, and gifts that all races and religions seek.

A biography of the saint as both mystic and man: “The single best book about Francis now available in English” (Commonweal). In this towering work, Andre Vauchez draws on the vast body of scholarship on Francis of Assisi, particularly the important research of recent decades, to create a complete and engaging portrait of the saint. He also explores how the memory of Francis was shaped by contemporaries who recollected him in their writings, and completes the book by setting “il Poverello” in the context of his time, bringing to light what was new, surprising, and even astonishing in the life and vision of this man. The first part of the book is a fascinating reconstruction of Francis’s life and work. The second and third parts deal with the texts—hagiographies, chronicles, sermons, personal testimonies, etc.—of writers who recorded aspects of Francis’s life and movement as they remembered them, and used those remembrances to construct a portrait of Francis relevant to their concerns. Finally, Vauchez explores those aspects of Francis’s life, personality, and spiritual vision that were unique to him, including his experience of God, his approach to nature, his understanding and use of Scripture, and his impact on culture as well as culture’s impact on him. “Considered one of the great spiritual leaders of humankind, Francis of Assisi was also a man of many faces and personas: ascetic, the founder of a religious order, a romantic hero, a mystic, a defender of the poor, a promoter of peace. But as Vauchez emphasizes—and this biography constantly reminds us—Francis was also a flesh-and-blood human being . . . A bracing, erudite account of a mystic’s life.” —Booklist

They came from the poorest parts of Ireland and Italy, and met as rivals on the sidewalks of New York. In the nineteenth century and for long after, the Irish and Italians fought in the Catholic Church, on the waterfront, at construction sites, and in the streets. Then they made peace through romance, marrying each other on a large scale in the years after World War II. An Unlikely Union unfolds the dramatic story of how two of America's largest ethnic groups learned to love and laugh with each other in the wake of decades of animosity. The vibrant cast of characters features saints such as

Acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto strips away the legends from the life of Francis of Assisi to reveal the true story of a man who has too often been obscured by pious iconography. Drawing on unprecedented access to unexplored archives, plus Francis's own letters, Spoto places Francis within the context of the multifaceted ecclesiastical, political, and social forces of medieval Italy, casting new light on Francis and showing how his emphasis on charity as the heart of the Gospel's message helped him pioneer a new social movement. This nuanced portrait reveals the multifaceted character of a man who can genuinely be said to have changed the course of history.