10/04/2021 – St Francis of Assisi

St Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order and today’s saint, lived at the same time as St Dominic but in a different country so, it is doubtful that he knew of the rosary. However it is most likely that he prayed a progenitor of the rosary, the “poor man’s breviary”.Monks with their education in Latin chanted the 150 Psalms. Many devout Catholics were unable to speak Latin so the practice grew up of praying 150 Our Fathers. To do this devotees used a cord of 150 knots grouped in tens. St Francis was known for wearing a cord around his rough gown. It is thought by many who study his life that this cord served as a poor man’s breviary and that he prayed the Paters throughout the day.