A fairy tale or reality?

Editorial Staff

Last summer I spent some days in Umbria (Italy) with my parents and we also visited the small town of Gubbio. I was charmed by the story of St Francis who tamed a wolf and by his extraordinary capacity to speak with birds and different animals. My dad kept on saying that it is only a legend while my mum affirmed that there are also historical records. Is it just a fictional tale to arouse our curiosity or did this beloved saint really have something special?

John

Actually both of your parents are right! These are historical facts with a touch of added fantasy. Certainly something took place between Saint Francis and the wolf that caused havoc with the inhabitants of the small town. There are also testimonies in other cases and in other religious traditions of men and women who, for their goodness, have managed to have peaceful relationships with dangerous animals. St. Seraphim used to feed a bear from his hands and Yogananda, a famous Indian guru (a master), always had a leopard with him which became vegetarian like him. A father of the church, Isaac of Nineveh explained that animals can smell the scent of man in saints before the original sin when he was not yet “afraid” (Genesis 3,10), and for this reason they were not afraid of him. The story of the wolf of Gubbio is based on an historical fact that later became a fictional tale that, as in every fairy tale teaches us how to better live our lives. The message is clear: if we are afraid of someone this fear will generate violence. On the contrary if we show trust and act with meekness even the most terrible men and animals can be tamed. Isn’t it the same as the message in the story “The little prince” and his fox? If you have not read it yet I suggest you do so! Every evening a fox comes to the door of the monastery where I live with my community (in Aosta Valley) to beg for some cheese rind... little by little it comes closer and closer! It is a miracle of the rediscovered trust between human kind and the rest of creation.