Francis and the Sultan

Jacques de Vitry

Letter VI of 1220

Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Vol. I, The Saint, p. 581

Jacques de Vitry (Jacobus de Vitriaco, c. 1160/70 – 1 May 1240) was a noted theologian and chronicler of his era. He was elected bishop of Acre in 1214 and made cardinal in 1229. He was in Egypt during the Fifth Crusade. Here is an excerpt from a letter he wrote at the time regarding Francis of Assisi’s determination to engage with the Sultan of Egypt:

“…the Order of Lesser Brothers…is multiplying rapidly throughout the world, because it expressly imitates the pattern of the primitive Church and the life of the apostles in everything…

The head of these brothers, who also founded the order, came into our camp. He was so inflamed with zeal for the faith that he did not fear to cross the lines to the army of our enemy.”

“We have seen the founder and master of this Order, Brother Francis, a a simple, uneducated man beloved by God and man, whom all the others obey as their highest superior. He was so moved by spiritual fervor and exhilaration that, after he reached the army of Christians before Damietta in Egypt, he boldly set out for the camp of the Sultan of Egypt, fortified only with the shield of faith. (Eph 6:16) When the Saracens captured him on the road, he said: “I am a Christian. Take me to your master.”

“They dragged him before the Sultan. …he recognized him as a man of God and changed his attitude into one of gentleness, and for some days he listened very attentively to Francis as he preached the faith of Christ to him and his followers. But ultimately, fearing that some of his soldiers would be converted to the Lord by the efficacy of his words and pass over to the Christian army, he ordered that Francis be returned to our camp with all reverence and security…”

The Saint and the Sultan

To explore in more detail Francis’ extraordinary exchange with the Sultan of Egypt, Malek al-Kamil, at the height of the Fifth Crusade in 1220 C.E., I highly recommend that you watch the video lecture presented by Paul Moses at the Catholic Theological Union (below).

Moses’s book, The Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam, and Francis of Assisi’s Mission of Peace, is not only the best account I have read of this historic encounter, I believe it is the best study yet of the theme we have been exploring in this series: the centrality of peace and nonviolence to the mission of Saint Francis. In this text, he cites Pace e Bene co-founder Fr. Louie Vitale’s groundbreaking insight on the trauma Francis may have experienced after the Battle of Collestrada and its impact on his life, and the little book Pace e Bene published on Franciscan nonviolence.