The first companions

Servants of God

He sold all his possessions, giving them to the poor, and followed Christ together with Francis.  
Bernard was often sent on delicate missions, and Francis chose him to lead the first group of friars who went to Rome in order to meet Pope Innocent III   for the oral approval of the "Propositum vitae" in 1209/1210.   Francis also sent Bernard and Giles to Santiago de Compostela in 1208 during the second mission of the first friars.   Bernard accompanied Clare to the monastery of Sant'Angelo di Panzo. Together with  Angelo, Leo and Rufino, Bernard remained close to Francis during the last two years of his life.

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He was a well-known canon of the cathedral of St.Rufino, just beside Clare's home, and became the second companion of St.Francis.  In true spirit of religious enthusiasm, Francis, Bernard and Peter repaired to the church of St. Nicholas and sought to learn God's will in their regard by thrice opening at random the book of the Gospels on the altar. Each time it opened at passages where Christ told His disciples to leave all things and follow Him, and Francis exclaimed: "This shall be our rule of life"!
Francis and Peter visited Egypt and the East, but the innovations introduced during Francis' absence by some of the friars caused their speedy return in 1220.  In the same year Francis resigned the office of vicar-general of the order, which he entrusted first to Peter, on whose early death (10 March, 1221) at the Porziuncola, he appointed Elias of Cortona.

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He was the third companion of St. Francis.  On 23 April 1208, the feast of St. George, Giles was invested in a poor habit St. Francis had begged for him. Almost immediately afterwards he set out with St. Francis to preach in the Marches of Ancona.  His origins were probably humble, he came from a family of farmers and was "a simple and upright man, one fearing God".  Giles occupied himself in manual work, and that he knew how to earn his daily bread with the sweat of his brow by humbly working the soil. Later on Giles and Bernard left for a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. In 1209/1210 Giles was one of the group of friars who accompanied Francis to Rome in order to meet Pope Innocent III,   who orally approved the "Propositum vitae" of the Friars Minor. On their way back, the friars passed through Orte and then stayed for some months at Rivotorto    until their definite stay at the Porziuncola.  Giles was an itinerant and pilgrim friar:  he went to a place called Ficarolum, between Mantova and Ferrara; in the Holy Land; in Ancona; on Mount Gargano, to the sanctuary of St. Michael the Archangel; and in Bari, to the sanctuary of St. Nicholas. The General Chapter of Pentecost of 1219 sent him to Tunis in North Africa.   During the autumn of 1226 Giles was again in Assisi, to stay with Francis, who was dying.  After Francis' death Giles spent the rest of his life in the hermitage of Monteripido, near Perugia. He died on 23 April 1262. Pope Pius VI declared him a Blessed. 
The Franciscan Sources present Giles as a man of fervent and profound prayer. He is considered to be a great mystic. According to the Mirror of Perfection, Francis described the friar minor's qualities as including "the mind upraised to God, possessed in its highest perfection by Brother Giles".  

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Sylvester was born in Assisi in the second half of the 12th century, son of Rosone di Monaldo, brother of Favarone, father of St. Clare.  He was experienced in law and he became a priest and canon of the cathedral church of San Rufino, just beside Clare's home,   Francis was without a penny, but Sylvester provided him the stones he needed to repair San Damiano's church.  When he learnt that Bernard of Quintavalle had joined Francis, he demanded the settlement for his debt.  Francis put the money in his hands without asking questions and without checking the amount.   Sylvester was shocked by his behaviour and in 1209 he joined Francis, becoming eminent for his life of poverty and contemplation. Together with St. Clare he prayed for enlightenment to discern the will of God upon St. Francis, and Masseo was the messenger for their answers.   He often accompanied Francis during his preaching tours. Once, in Arezzo, his prayers brought peace to the city, which was falling prey to diabolic hatred and violence between its citizens. Bonaventure, in a special way, mentions the visions which Sylvester had concerning Francis.

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He belonged to the religious Order of the Cruciferi, he was taken seriously ill and he was sent to an hospital near Assisi. The doctors thought he couldn't recover from his disease, but Moricus implored Francis for his intercession with God.  Francis prayed for him, then he mixed some crumbs of bread with the oil from a lamp that was burning in front of Our Lady's altar.  He sent this medicine to Moricus, predicting that he was soon going to recover from his illness and to join him

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Rufino was born in Assisi, son of Scipione di Offreduccio. He was a relative of friar Sylvester and a cousin of St. Clare. He was already a priest when, in 1210, he followed Francis, who held him in high esteem for his purity.   He was always close to Francis, especially during the last two years of his life, when he personally nursed him and saw the sacred stigmata which Francis jealously concealed from everybody. The Fioretti mention the episodes in which Francis advised Rufino how to get rid of a temptation from the devil, and how he sent Rufino to preach in San Rufino. The Mirror of Perfection describes "the virtuous and constant prayer of Brother Rufino, who prayed without ceasing, and whose mind was ever fixed on God". In 1246, together with Leo and Angelo, he was one of the three companions of the saint who wrote a letter from Greccio to the Minister General Crescentius of Jesi, who requested the brothers to send their written memories of St. Francis, and was moreover associated with Leo and Angelo in the composition of the celebrated "Legend of the Three Companions". He is buried near Francis' tomb in the crypt of the "Basilica di San Francesco".

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He was a noble knight, and he was one of the first twelve friars and also the first knight to join Francis.  During 1223 he was in Rome, working in the house of Leone Brancaleone, cardinal of "Saint Cross in Jerusalem".  in the manner provided for by St.Francis' Rule of 1221.    Francis joined Angelo in Cardinal Leone's palace, during Francis' last journey to Rome, when Pope Onorius III gave his approval for the new Rule.   Angelo prepared a room for him in a lonely tower, but Francis remained there only one night, because the demons tortured him.  Francis understood that he had to stay in poor places, avoiding rich and confortable palaces, as a good example for all the friars.
Together with Bernard, Leo and Rufino, Angelo remained close to Francis during the last two years of his life.  By that time, Francis' was seriously ill, and Angelo took care of him, as his "companion and guardian".   Once he sewed a piece of fur inside Francis' habit, to protect his stomach and spleen from the cold, but Francis obliged him to sew another piece of fur on the external side of the habit, so everybody could see that he was wearing a piece of fur.
As the saint lay dying, he and Leo consoled him by singing the "Canticle of the Sun". Together with Leo and Rufino, he wrote the celebrated "Legend of the Three Companions" and, in 1246, a letter from Greccio to the Minister General Crescentius of Jesi. He is buried near Francis' tomb in the crypt of the "Basilica di San Francesco".

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Leo was a priest and was one of the most faithful disciples of Francis. He was one of the first to join him after the approbation of the first Rule of the Friars Minor (1209-1210).  The Sources present Brother Leo as the most intimate companion of Francis, his confessor and secretary, as is clear in the case of the Parchment which Francis gave him on La Verna in September 1224, after receiving the stigmata. This Parchment with the Praises of the most high God and the Blessing to Brother Leo is conserved as a relic in St. Francis' basilica in Assisi. Another note which Francis wrote to Brother Leo is found at Spoleto. Leo was present when Francis wrote the Rule, and he is also famous for the episode of perfect joy. To him Francis gave his habit in his memory: it was brought in France after Leo's death.  
He was very close to Francis, especially during the last years of his life: together with Angelo and Rufino , Leo was present during the poverello's last illness, nursing him.  As the saint lay dying, he and Angelo  consoled him by singing the "Canticle of the Sun".He was a staunch defender of the primitive ideals of the Franciscan fraternity.   Soon after Francis's death he came into conflict with those whom he considered traitors to the Poverello and his ideal of poverty. Having protested against the collection of money for the erection of the basilica of San Francesco and having actually smashed the vase which Brother Elias had set up for contributions, Leo was whipped by order of Elias and expelled from Assisi.  
Leo remained a point of reference to Clare and the Poor Ladies of San Damiano, and he was present together with Brother Angelo when Clare died in 1253,  He is thought to have collaborated in the biography of St. Clare written about 1257. Leo is one of the three companions of the letter sent from Greccio in 1246, and was moreover associated with Angelo and Rufino in the composition of the celebrated "Legend of the Three Companions". Leo died at the Porziuncola  on 15 November, 1271, at an advanced age, and is commemorated in the Franciscan Martyrology which gives him the title of Blessed, and the cause of his formal beatification is still pending with that of the other early companions of St. Francis.   He is buried near Francis' tomb in the crypt of the "Basilica di San Francesco".

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He was born at Bevilia near Assisi, c. 1180; and died at Cortona, 22 April, 1253. His family name was Bonusbaro or Bonibarone,   his father was from the neighbourhood of Bologna, and his mother an Assisian. Before becoming a friar Elias worked at his father's trade of mattress-making and also taught the children of Assisi to read the Psalter. Later on,  Elias was a scriptor, or notary, at Bologna, where no doubt he applied himself to study. He was not a cleric and never became a priest. Elias appears to have been one of the earliest companions, but the time and place of his joining Francis are uncertain: it may have been at Cortona in 1211. He held a place of prominence among the friars from the first.  Francis named him   to succeed  Peter of Cattaneo (d. 10 March, 1221) as vicar-general of the order. Elias had held this office for five years when Francis died (3 October, 1226), and he then became charged with the responsibilities of the moment and the provisional government of the Friars Minor.
After superintending the temporary burial of the saint at San Giorgio, Elias began to lay plans for the erection of a great basilica at Assisi, to enshrine the remains of the Poverello.    To this end he obtained a donation, with the authority of the pope, of the so-called "Collis Inferni" at the western extremity of the town, and proceeded to collect money in various ways to meet the expenses of the building.
Elias turned away the friars who felt entirely with St. Francis upon the question of poverty,   Brother Leo   protested against the collection of money, but he was expelled from Assisi. Elias devoted all his energies to raising the basilica in honour of Francis. The first stone was laid 17 July, 1228, the day following the saint's canonization, and the work advanced with such incredible speed that the lower church was finished within twenty-two months. It was consecrated 25 May, 1230, but the hurried, secret, and still unexplained translation of St. Francis's body from San Giorgio had already taken place. (Francis' body was found again in 1818).

Elias abused his authority and his manner of life made his despotism more intolerable. It seems to have been that of a powerful baron rather than of a mendicant friar.  Because of these excesses, which threatened the complete destruction of the rule, the opposition to Elias became widespread.   Gregory IX called on him to resign and he refused to do so: in 1239 he was deposed by the pope. The English provincial, Albert of Pisa, was elected general in his stead.    Refusing to obey either the general or the pope, Elias transferred his allegiance to the excommunicated emperor Frederick II: so he was excommunicated by Gregory IX and expelled from the order, as Francis had predicted. 
Elias resided at Cortona with a few friars who had remained faithful to him, but in 1250 he lost his protector by Frederick's death.  During 1253, he fell seriously ill and was absolved by Bencius, Archpriest of Cortona.
Elias is perhaps the most difficult character to estimate in all Franciscan history, and it would be difficult to imagine two characters more  different than Elias and   Francis.  Many stories have gathered around Elias' life which are largely inventions.  In spite of the account of Elias's early pride given by the "Fioretti", there is nothing to show that he was other than a good religious during the lifetime of Francis, else it is hard to understand how he could have entrusted Elias with so much responsibility, and how he could have blessed him from his death-bed.
Elias really loved Francis, and there never was any breach between them. At the same time. their religious ideals were far apart. The heroic ideal of poverty and detachment which the Poverello conceived for his friars, seemed exaggerated to Elias.    Francis did not desire large loci for his friars, while Elias multiplied spacious convents, and their views with regard to learning among the friars were very different. Until he remained under the influence of Francis his ambition was curbed, but when he came to govern, forgetting his own past life, the example of Francis, and the obligations of his office, he allowed ambition to dominate him and to lead him to his ruin.

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He was a whimsical composer of secular songs, and the Emperor crowned him "great poet and king of the verses".  He was curious to meet Francis, knowing his disregard for high life and honours.  Meanwhile, Francis was preaching in a monastery, near San Severino's castle.  Our Lord's hand touched Pacifico, so he had a vision: Francis was preaching from the cross of Christ... Two shining swords were shaping a cross: the first went from Francis' head to his feet, and the second sword extended from one hand to the other, passing through his chest.   Pacifico didn't know Francis' face, but he recognized him thanks to this marvellous vision.  He decided to follow Francis, abandoning the vain honours of his previous life.  Francis called him "Pacifico",(peaceable man), because he had left the restlessness of the secular world to join Christ's peace. He had also another wonderful vision concerning Francis:  he saw a big Tau on Francis' forehead.  It was lighting him and adorning his face with a splendid variety of colours.  Pacifico became Minister of the Friars in France and  was the first friar to hold this office.

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Several other disciples grouped themselves round Francis eager to share his poverty, among them being Sabatinus, "vir bonus et justus" and  John of Capella, who afterwards fell away.
Philip "the Long" was the "General Visitor" of the Poor Clares during the years 1219-1220 and 1228-1246.  
Masseo da Marignano was a big and handsome man, a very sensible and humble person.  When Francis wanted to know the will of God upon himself, Sylvester and Clare prayed for enlightenment to discern it, and Masseo was the messenger for their answers. He is buried near Francis' tomb in the crypt of the "Basilica di San Francesco".
Juniper was a very patient man, he renounced completely to his own will and lived in perfect imitation of Christ.
Ruggero's life was full of sanctity,  charity and love.  In 1236, Pope Gregory IX gave his approval for a feast in his honour in Todi.
Lucido was always restless: he couldn't stay in the same place for more than one month, because he didn't want to grow fond of it.  He used to say that we have no lasting home on this earth, but only in Heaven.

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