The Enthusiast: How the Best Friend of Francis of Assisi Almost Destroyed What He Started - Softcover

Jon M. Sweeney

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594716013 ISBN 13: 9781594716010

Publisher: Ave Maria Press, 2016

Synopsis

Popular historian and award-winning author Jon M. Sweeney relates the untold story of St. Francis's friendship with Elias of Cortona, the man who helped him build the Franciscan movement. Sweeney uses the complexities of their relationship in a gripping narrative of how their efforts changed the world and how Elias's enthusiasm betrayed the ideals of his friend. Few biographies of St. Francis have examined his complicated relationship with close friend Elias of Cortona. In The Enthusiast, award-winning author and historian Jon M. Sweeney delves into this little-known partnership that defined and then almost destroyed Francis's ideals. Blending history and biography, Sweeney reveals how Francis and Elias rebuilt churches, aided lepers, and entertained as "God's troubadours" to the delight of everyday people who had grown tired of a remote and tumultuous Church. At the height of their spiritual renaissance, however, Elias became "the devil" to many of the other friars; they believed him to be a traitor to their ideals. After Francis's premature death, the movement fractured. Scorned by most of the Franciscan leadership, Elias followed a path that would leave him a lonely, broken man. Sweeney shows how Elias's undoing was rooted in his attempts to honor his old friend.

About this title

Review:

“Among the hundreds of biographies of St. Francis of Assisi, The Enthusiast stands out as a truly great read.” (Paula Huston)

About the Author:

JON M. SWEENEY is an independent scholar and one of religion’s most respected writers. He is the bestselling author of The Pope Who Quit. Sweeney’s other works include When Saint Francis Saved the Church, Inventing Hell, The Complete Francis of Assisi, and The St. Francis Prayer Book. He writes regularly for America and The Tablet and is also the editorial director at Franciscan Media.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ave Maria Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1594716013
• ISBN 13: 9781594716010
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288