Saint of the Day – 2 July – Servant of God Bernard of Quintavalle OFM ( Died 1241) “The First Follower of St Francis of Assisi”

Saint of the Day – 2 July – Servant of God Bernard of Quintavalle OFM ( Died 1241) “The First fruits of the Minor Orders,”The First Follower of St Francis of Assisi,” his faithful and devout companion who received. from St Francis on his deathbed, custody of the Friars Minor. He died nearly 20 years after St Francis.

Bernard, one of the wealthiest young men of Assisi, became intrigued by reports about one of his peers—Francesco di Bernardone, previously known as something of a dandy and carouser—who had recently aroused wonder, as well as ridicule, by his ostentatious embrace of poverty. His curiosity piqued, Bernard who invited Francis to dine with him and spend the night in his home.

During the course of the night, he was so moved by the sound of his guest’s ardent prayers that he confronted Francis the next day and asked his help in discerning God’s will. Opening the Missal at random, Francis alighted on the text, “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all you own, and give it to the poor.” A second time he opened the book and found, “Take nothing for your journey.” On a third attempt, he found, “If anyone would follow me, let him deny himself.” “This is the advice that the Lord has given us,” Francis proclaimed. “Go and do as you have heard.” Taking these instructions to heart, Bernard disposed of his property and adopted Francis’s way of life.

Becoming one of Francis’s most trusted companions, Bernard accompanied him on many journeys. He established a house in Bologna and undertook a special mission to the Shrine at Santiago de Compostela. When Francis was on his deathbed in 1226, “like the patriarch Jacob, with his devoted sons standing around him, grieving and weeping over the departure of so beloved a father,” he asked, “Where is my firstborn son?” Placing his hand on Bernard, he bestowed a special blessing, and enjoined him to “be the head of all your Brothers.”

Bernard himself died about 20 years later, around 1241 and was buried near his spiritual father in the Basilica of Saint Francis. His last words were, “I find this in my soul – not for a thousand worlds equal to this one, would I want not to have served Our Lord Jesus Christ…. My dearest brothers, I beg you to love one another.”

“Of Bernard, St Francis said that he was worthy of all reverence and that he had founded this Order because he was the first who had left the world, keeping back nothing for himself but giving everything to Christ’s poor.” — From The Little Flowers of St. Francis.