persisting in his prayer and praise, the fish played in the water and did not leave until Blessed Francis, after finishing his prayer, gave it permission.

The glorious confessor of Christ gave orders not only to sensate creatures, such as beasts and birds, about which it would take too long to tell in detail, but also out of consideration for him, the Lord changed even insensate elements into another nature.

Let us briefly narrate another such incident. Once, when the holy man was gravely ill with some disease at the hermitage of Sant’Urbano, water was miraculously changed into wine for him. He so easily regained his health at its taste that no one would doubt that this was a miracle worked by God.

 Previous

Next 

³Persistente autem ipso in oratione et laudibus, piscis in aqua ludens a navicula non recessit, donec ei licentiam beatus Franciscus, oratione completa, concessit.

⁴Sic igitur gloriosus Christi confessor non solum sensibilibus, de quibus perlongum esset narrare per singula, bestiis videlicet et avibus imperavit, sed ad illius obsequium in alteram naturam insensibilia etiam Dominus elementa convertit.

⁵De quorum similibus unum quoque libet ut breviter enarremus. ⁶Nam cum ipse vir sanctus apud eremum Sancti Urbani quadam vice graviter aegrotaret, aqua sibi mirabiliter in vinum mutata est ; ⁷factumque est ut ad gustum illius tam facile sanitatem reciperet, quod divinum hoc esse miraculum nullus ambigeret.