Howling success

Ever feel like the wolf is out there prowling about and ready to devour and destroy you?

As we approach the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi on Oct. 4, we know we can call on his intercession to help tame it.

We already know that St. Francis had a unique relation with nature and that everything was “brother” or “sister” … brother sun, sister moon, even sister death. A favorite story for many is how St. Francis became a peace negotiator between the terror of the town of Gubbio and a fierce aggressor called “brother wolf.”

Around 1220 a wolf started killing livestock outside of the village and then turned to killing the people of the village, even children. According to legend he was known to hang around the outside of the gate waiting for people to pass outside of it so he could devour them. It was said that no weapon was effective against him.

Hearing of the distressing situation, St. Francis announced he would meet with the wolf, even though he was advised against it. 

A brave friar and several peasants accompanied St. Francis outside the city gate. But soon the peasants lost heart and said they would go no farther.

From a distance, the town watched as the wolf charged at St. Francis with its jaws open. St. Francis then made a sign of the cross and ordered it in the name of God to stop his attacks on the villagers. The wolf then trotted to St. Francis laid at his feet and put his head in his hands. 

St. Francis told the animal: “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 offenses, and neither men nor dogs shall pursue thee anymore.”

In a peace negotiation, St. Francis promised the villagers would feed the wolf every day, “as it is hunger which has made thee do so much evil by the villagers” and he would cease to attack any animal or man. 

To seal the pact, the wolf put one of his forepaws in St. Francis’ outstretched hands. The villagers were astonished when St. Francis returned to the village, the formerly ferocious wolf now docile. 

St. Francis then gave a sermon to the villagers saying, “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 saint then renewed the pact with the wolf in front of the villagers.

For the next two years, it is said the wolf went from door to door and the villagers, honoring St. Francis’ agreement with him, fed him. They were saddened when the wolf died two years later, as the former terror of the city also represented the sanctity of St. Francis and the power of God. He was given an honorable burial.

The taming of the wolf has been included in stories of St. Francis in books, movies, videos, with messages about care for creation, conquering fears and negotiating peace. 

In 1913, Rubén Darío concluded in his poem Los motivos del lobo (The motives of the wolf), that human desires are darker than those of the beast. This makes the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi a good time to call on his intercession to help tame wolves of every kind.