A Letter to Brother Leo
(1224-1226)a
This short letter was written on a small piece of parchment. Worn spots suggest that Brother Leo must have kept it with him as a precious relic. Although scholars do not agree, a comparison of Francis’s handwriting in this parchment with that given to Leo on LaVerna indicates that he may have been suffering from the stigmata at the time of offering him this piece of advice.b
Edition of Kajetan Esser
1Brother Leo, health and peace from Brother Francis!c
2I am speaking, my son, in this way—as a mother would—because I am putting everything we said on the road in this brief message and advice.d If, afterwards, you need to come to me for counsel, I advise you thus: 3In whatever way it seems better to you to please the Lord God and to follow His footprinte and poverty, do it with the blessing of the Lord God and my obedience. 4And if you need and want to come to me for the sake of your soul or for some consolation, Leo, come.
- The history of this original manuscript, written by Francis himself, is filled with mystery. It is missing from any list of Francis’s writings until 1604 when the Poor Clares gave it to the Conventual Friars in Spoleto. It then disappeared until 1895 when Clito Cardinale, a parish priest of Spoleto, brought it to Michele Faloci-Pulignani, a church official, to determine its authenticity. Faloci-Pulignani brought it to Pope Leo XIII who entrusted it to the care of the canons of the Duomo of Spoleto who still maintain its care.
- See A. Pratesi, "Autografo di San Francesco nel Duomo si Spoleto," San Francesco e i Francescani a Spoleto, (Spoleto: Accademia Spoletina 1984) 17-26; and Attilio Bartoli Langeli, "Gli scritti da Francesco. L’autografo di un ‘illiteratus,’ " Frate Francesco d’Assisi. Atti del XXI Convegno Internazionale, Spoleto: Centro Italiano di Studi sull’Alto Medievo, 1994, 101-159.
- The Latin text of this autograph is f leo f francissco tuo salutem et pacem. Two points have puzzled scholars: its grammatical construction, suggesting that Leo is sending this to Francis, and the misspelling of the saint’s name. In the first instance, the greeting may be an example of the saint’s poor grasp of Latin. In the second, some have suggested that Sco, as is francis-sco, may have been the saint’s nickname, its use suggesting the close bond of friendship that existed between the two.
- The concept of relationships qualified by motherhood is undoubtedly intertwined in Francis’s concept of bringing others to life through the word of God, an image found in Paul, e.g., 1 Corinthians 4:6 and I Thessalonians 2:7. It is found elsewhere in Francis’s writings, e.g. ER IX 11, LR VI 8, Rule for Hermitages 1-2,10 (hereafter RH), and in the testimony of Odo of Cheriton who, in 1219, maintained that he heard Francis reply to a question of how the fraternity came to be: "I became like a woman impregnated by the word of God." The stimulus for this writing is a discussion both men were having while traveling. In this regard, it is similar to the True and Perfect Joy (hereafter TPJ) (cf. infra). In both instances, Leo appears as being troubled or disturbed by questions of the essence of Francis’s view of Gospel life.
- No explanation has been found for Francis’s unusual use of the singular case in this reference to the footprints of Jesus.
Epistola ad fratrem leonem, Fontes Franciscani, p. 89
Epistola ad Fratrem Leonem
Editio Esser
1Frater Leo, frater Francisco tuo salutem et pacem.
2Ita dico tibi, fili mei, sicut mater: quia omnia verba, quae diximus in via, breviter in hoc verba [!] dispono et consilio, et si dopo [tibi?] oportet propter consilium venire ad me, quia ita consilio tibi: 3In quocumque modo melius videtur tibi placere Domino Deo et sequi vestigiam [!] et paupertatem suam, faciatis cum beneditione Domini Dei et mea obedientia. 4Et, si tibi est necessarium animam, tuam propter aliam consolationem tuam, et vis, Leo, venire ad me, veni.
