18: St Francis Window

St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and environment, could be viewed as the original Earth Day advocate. Francis' devotion to God was expressed through his love for all of God's creation. St. Francis cared for the poor and sick.  He was said to have spoken with animals and preached to birds who remained quiet and attentive even when people were not. One famous tale was of how he tamed the Wolf of Gubbio:

A fierce wolf began attacking livestock outside the town of Gubbio.  Soon the wolf started attacking anyone foolish enough to venture beyond the gates of the town alone.  No weapon was capable of hurting the wolf. Francis announced he was going to meet the wolf.  The wolf rushed at Francis with his jaws open.  Francis made the sign of the cross and commanded the wolf to stop in the name of God. The wolf trotted to him docilely and lay at his feet, putting his head in Francis' hands. Francis arranged for the wolf to stop eating townspeople in return for regular food.

 This tale of reconciliation is the reason Francis is often pictured with a wolf, and why he is the patron of animals. At a time when animals were seen only as property, Francis saw them as his siblings in God’s creation.

Window

This is one of the most modern windows in the church.

It was designed by Derek Pearce, who was in his 70s at the time. In the 1980’s Derek was the artist in residence at Monash University’s Glass Department.  He did the original drawing and then a number of student artists were assigned the task of painting the small images of particular animals.  Most of the animals are Australian.