St. Francis – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

Articles on St. Francis

October 3, 2023

Birds, worms, rabbits: Francis of Assisi was said to have loved them all – but today’s pet blessings on his feast day might have seemed strange to the 13th century saint

Mary Dzon, University of Tennessee

Medieval monastics were often discouraged from owning companion animals, which were viewed as a distraction, a religion scholar explains.

October 8, 2021

Joanne M. Pierce, College of the Holy Cross

Environmentalism may seem like a new mindset, especially in the Church. But care for creation has been woven into Catholicism for centuries.

December 18, 2019

Vanessa Corcoran, Georgetown University

Nativity scenes showing the birth of baby Jesus first originated in the small Italian town of Greccio.

Joanne M. Pierce
Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
Vanessa Corcoran
Adjunct Professor of History, Academic Counselor, Georgetown University
Mary Dzon
Associate Professor of English, University of Tennessee