Francis prays in front of the cross at the Church of Saint Damian. Francis meets a leper.
The first scene we come to within the tavola displays Francis’ discovery of his true vocation. This was not an easy process for Saint Francis. His ambition and family influence encouraged him to a life of knighthood. He was also pulled, however, to the crucifix hanging in the Church of Saint Damian. There, he prayed to God, asking Him what he should do and what path he should take. God instructed him to “Go and repair my house.”
This proved to be an incredibly influential portion of Francis’s life, ending in his conversion and pursuance of his true vocation, a life devoted to God and his creation.
The second scene depicted in this tile of the tavola is Francis’ meeting with a leper. Francis was born into a well-off family. His only previous understanding of poverty was that it was the root cause of suffering. In this moment, Francis saw through the prejudice of poverty that he had been brought up with. Saint Bonaventure wrote that in this moment Saint Francis kissed the leper and completely overcame his prejudices in favor of a pure view of the human dignity of his fellow man.
As he continued to pursue his vocation, this care and understanding of his neighbor would prove to be a major pillar of Saint Francis’s daily life and teaching.