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From
The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis and the Wolf of
Gubbio
 t the time when Saint Francis was
living in the city of Gubbio, a large wolf appeared in the neighbourhood,
so terrible and so fierce, that he not only devoured other animals, but made
a prey of men also; and since he often approached the town, all the people
were in great alarm, and used to go about armed, as if going to
battle.
Notwithstanding these precautions,
if any of the inhabitants ever met him alone, he was sure to be devoured,
as all defence was useless: and, through fear of the wolf, they dared not
go beyond the city walls.
Saint Francis, feeling great
compassion for the people of Gubbio, resolved to go and meet the wolf, though
all advised him not to do so. Making the sign of the holy cross, and putting
all his confidence in God, he went forth from the city, taking his brethren
with him; but these fearing to go any further, Saint Francis bent his steps
alone toward the spot where the wolf was known to be, while many people followed
at a distance, and witnessed the miracle.
The wolf, seeing all this multitude,
ran towards Saint Francis with his jaws wide open.
As he approached, the saint,
making the sign of the cross, cried out: “Come hither, brother wolf;
I command thee, in the name of Christ, neither to harm me nor anybody
else.”
Marvellous to tell, no sooner
had Saint Francis made the sign of the cross, than the terrible wolf, closing
his jaws, stopped running, and coming up to Saint Francis, lay down at his
feet as meekly as a lamb.
And the saint thus addressed
him: “Brother wolf, thou hast done much evil in this land, destroying
and killing the creatures of God without His permission; yea, not animals
only hast thou destroyed, but thou hast even dared to devour men, made after
the image of God; for which thing thou art worthy of being hanged like a
robber and a murderer. All men cry out against thee, the dogs pursue thee,
and all the inhabitants of this city are thy enemies; but I will make peace
between them and thee, O brother wolf, if so be thou no more offend them,
and they shall forgive thee all thy past offences, and neither men nor dogs
shall pursue thee any more.”
Having listened to these words,
the wolf bowed his head, and, by the movements of his body, his tail, and
his eyes, made signs that he agreed to what Saint Francis said.
 On this Saint Francis added: “As
thou art willing to make this peace, I promise thee that thou shalt be fed
every day by the inhabitants of this land so long as thou shalt live among
them; thou shalt no longer suffer hunger, as it is hunger which has made
thee do so much evil; but if I obtain all this for thee, thou must promise,
on thy side, never again to attack any animal or any human being; dost thou
make this promise?”
Then the wolf, bowing his head,
made a sign that he consented.
Said Saint Francis again:
“Brother wolf, wilt thou pledge thy faith that I may trust to this thy
promise?” and putting out his hand he received the pledge of the wolf;
for the latter lifted up his paw and placed it familiarly in the hand of
Saint Francis, giving him thereby the only pledge which was in his
power.
Then said Saint Francis, addressing
him again: “Brother wolf, I command thee, in the name of Christ, to
follow me immediately, without hesitation or doubting, that we may go together
to ratify this peace which we have concluded in the name of God”; and
the wolf, obeying him, walked by his side as meekly as a lamb, to the great
astonishment of all the people.
Now, the news of this most wonderful
miracle spreading quickly through the town, all the inhabitants, both men
and women, small and great, young and old, flocked to the market-place to
see Saint Francis and the wolf.
All the people being assembled,
the saint got up to preach, saying, amongst other things, how for our sins
God permits such calamities, and how much greater and more dangerous are
the flames of hell, which last for ever, than the rage of a wolf, which can
kill the body only; and how much we ought to dread the jaws of hell, if the
jaws of so small an animal as a wolf can make a whole city tremble through
fear.
The sermon being ended, Saint
Francis added these words: “Listen my brethren: the wolf who is here
before you has promised and pledged his faith that he consents to make peace
with you all, and no more to offend you in aught, and you must promise to
give him each day his necessary food; to which, if you consent, I promise
in his name that he will most faithfully observe the
compact.”
Then all the people promised
with one voice to feed the wolf to the end of his days; and Saint Francis,
addressing the latter, said again: “And thou, brother wolf, dost thou
promise to keep the compact, and never again to offend either man or beast,
or any other creature?” And the wolf knelt down, bowing his head, and,
by the motions of his tail and of his ears, endeavoured to show that he was
willing, so far as was in his power, to hold to the compact.
Then Saint Francis continued:
“Brother wolf, as thou gavest me a pledge of this thy promise when we
were outside the town, so now I will that thou renew it in the sight of all
this people, and assure me that I have done well to promise in thy name”;
and the wolf lifting up his paw placed it in the hand of Saint
Francis.
Now this event caused great joy
in all the people, and a great devotion towards Saint Francis, both because
of the novelty of the miracle, and because of the peace which had been concluded
with the wolf; and they lifted up their voices to heaven, praising and blessing
God, who had sent them Saint Francis, through whose merits they had been
delivered from such a savage beast.
The wolf lived two years at Gubbio;
he went familiarly from door to door without harming anyone, and all the
people received him courteously, feeding him with great pleasure, and no
dog barked at him as he went about.
At last, after two years, he
died of old age, and the people of Gubbio mourned his loss greatly; for when
they saw him going about so gently amongst them all, he reminded them of
the virtue and sanctity of Saint Francis.
—from
The
Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi, Chapter XXI
(This text is in the public domain, but my typesetting is copyrighted.)
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