3-098-923 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Miracle of Saint Francis of Paola, last quarter of the 17th century. This scene may represent one of Francis' supposed miracles where, after his nephew died, the boy's mother - Francis' own sister - appealed to Francis. He continued praying until, to her great astonishment, the boy's life was restored and Francis presented him to his mother in perfect health. Saint Francis of Paola, born in Paola, a small town in Calabria, in 1416, was the founder of the Order of Minims, or Friars Minor, so named because they considered themselves the "last servants of the house of the Lord." To the three customary monastic vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty, they added humility. Closely linked to France, where he went at the request of King Louis XI to assist him in his death, Francis lived there for twenty-six years and died on April 2, 1508. He was canonized by Pope Leo X in 1519, at the request of the French monarch Francis I.