July 2026 Monthly Spiritual Assistant Greeting – Fr. Francis Sariego, OFM Cap

St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity Regional Spiritual Assistant

St. Francis of Assisi Friary

1901 Prior Road

Wilmington, Delaware 19809

tel: (302) 798-1454      fax: (302) 798-3360      website: skdsfo     email: pppgusa@gmail.com

 July 2026

Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis of Assisi,

The meeting between Saint Francis of Assisi and Lucchesio and Buonadonna, often called Buona, occupies a treasured place in the Franciscan tradition. Whether every detail of the account has come down with complete historical precision or through the loving memory of the early fraternity, its spiritual truth has shaped the identity of the Secular Franciscans for more than eight centuries. In this encounter we see Francis discovering that the Gospel life entrusted to him was not intended only for friars living in community but was also meant for ordinary Christian men and women living in the world. It was a moment that expanded the horizons of the   Franciscan movement and revealed that holiness is possible in every state of life.

Lucchesio was a successful merchant from Poggibonsi in Tuscany. Like many prosperous merchants of his time, he had been deeply involved in business, trade, and the pursuit of wealth. His wife, Buona, shared his life and responsibilities. Their marriage reflected many of the ambitions common to the growing merchant class of medieval Italy. Success, financial security, social standing, and careful management of possessions occupied much of their attention. Yet beneath outward prosperity there remained a spiritual hunger that material success could never satisfy.

The age in which they lived was one of remarkable change. Commerce was transforming society. Towns were growing rapidly, wealth was becoming concentrated in new social classes, and people increasingly measured success by possessions and influence. At the same time, many Christians longed for a more authentic Gospel life. They admired the apostles and desired a simpler faith rooted in prayer, charity, and trust in God. Francis himself had experienced this longing after his conversion. Having abandoned wealth and status, he had embraced Lady Poverty and discovered an unexpected freedom. His joyful witness became impossible to ignore.

When Lucchesio and Buona encountered Francis, they were not simply meeting another religious teacher. They were meeting someone whose entire life testified to the possibility of radical trust in Christ. Francis possessed no wealth, sought no earthly honor, and exercised no political power. Yet people sensed an extraordinary authority in him because his words and actions were perfectly united. His poverty was not misery but freedom. His humility was not weakness but strength. His joy was not superficial happiness but the fruit of intimate friendship with God.

One of the remarkable aspects of the encounter is that Francis did not ask Lucchesio and Buona to abandon their marriage or separate from one another. In medieval spirituality, there could sometimes be an assumption that those who desired greater holiness should leave ordinary life for the monastery or religious community. Francis recognized something different. God had called this husband and wife together. Their marriage itself could become a path to sanctity.

This insight reveals Francis’ profoundly evangelical understanding of vocation. Holiness is determined not primarily by one’s external state in life but by faithful response to God’s call. Every baptized Christian receives the invitation to follow Christ. Some are called to priesthood, others to religious life, still others to marriage or the single state. None of these vocations is spiritually inferior. Each becomes holy through generous love.

Francis therefore did not attempt to make Lucchesio into a friar or Buona into a Poor Clare. Instead, he helped them become more fully what God had already called them to be. This approach demonstrated extraordinary wisdom. He understood that grace perfects rather than destroys the responsibilities God has already entrusted to us. Grace builds on nature (Thos.Aquinas).  The glory of God is the human person fully realized (St. Iraeneus).

The conversion of Lucchesio and Buona illustrates that authentic conversion always begins in the heart before it transforms external circumstances. They did not merely adopt new religious practices. Their entire way of seeing the world changed. Wealth became a means of serving the poor rather than increasing personal comfort. Their home became a place of hospitality instead of self-protection. Their marriage became a partnership in discipleship rather than simply a shared household.

Francis understood that possessions themselves are not the ultimate problem. The greater danger lies in allowing possessions to possess the human heart. Lucchesio gradually learned to hold material goods with open hands. Detachment allowed generosity to flourish. Charity replaced selfish accumulation. Simplicity replaced restless ambition.

Their transformation reminds Christians that conversion is rarely an isolated event. Rather, it unfolds gradually through countless daily decisions. Every act of forgiveness, every generous gift, every patient sacrifice, and every moment of prayer shapes the heart into the likeness of Christ. Francis encouraged precisely this daily conversion rather than dramatic displays of holiness.

Equally important was the effect of this encounter upon Buona herself. Too often medieval history focuses primarily upon male figures while overlooking the indispensable witness of holy women. Yet Buona was not merely the wife of Lucchesio. She freely embraced the Gospel life alongside her husband. Their vocation became mutual. They encouraged one another toward holiness.

This mutual sanctification reflects the deepest meaning of Christian marriage. Husband and wife are not simply companions through earthly life. They become fellow pilgrims helping one another reach eternal life. Every sacrifice offered for the other’s good becomes an act of worship. Every forgiveness granted becomes participation in Christ’s mercy. Every shared prayer strengthens the domestic church.

The witness of Lucchesio and Buona also teaches that holiness grows through ordinary faithfulness. They were not missionaries crossing distant lands or theologians writing profound books. They remained within society, interacting daily with neighbors, merchants, travelers, laborers, and the poor. Their sanctity emerged through ordinary relationships transformed by extraordinary charity.

Francis recognized that the world desperately needed holy lay people. Friars could preach in churches and marketplaces, but countless homes, workshops, businesses, and families required witnesses who lived permanently within those environments. Lay Franciscans would become the Gospel’s presence where friars could not remain.

This insight proved revolutionary. The Franciscan movement would eventually embrace three complementary expressions. Friars would proclaim the Gospel through itinerant preaching and fraternity. Poor Clares would sustain the Church through contemplative prayer. Secular Franciscans would sanctify ordinary society by living the Gospel within family life, professional work, civic responsibility, and daily relationships. Together these vocations revealed the fullness of Franciscan spirituality.

The encounter therefore transformed not only one married couple but also the future of the Franciscan family. Without holy lay followers, Franciscan spirituality might have remained confined within monasteries and friaries. Instead, it entered villages, cities, marketplaces, farms, homes, and every corner of society.

Another important dimension of this meeting is the relationship between contemplation and action. Francis never separated prayer from charity. Lucchesio and Buona learned that love of God naturally overflows into love of neighbor. Their prayer deepened their generosity. Their generosity enriched their prayer. Each strengthened the other.

This balance remains essential today. Prayer without service can become self-centered. Service without prayer can become exhausting activism. Francis invited his followers to unite both dimensions so that every act of charity springs from communion with Christ.

The simplicity embraced by Lucchesio and Buona did not mean neglecting responsibilities. Rather, simplicity reordered priorities. God came first. Family became sacred. Work became honest service. Wealth became stewardship. Time became a gift rather than a possession. Every aspect of life acquired new meaning because Christ occupied its center.

The fruits of this transformation extended beyond their own household. Neighbors observed changed behavior. The poor experienced unexpected generosity. Conflicts diminished. Hospitality increased. Their witness became a quiet but powerful form of evangelization.

Francis understood that the credibility of the Gospel depends less upon eloquent speeches than upon transformed lives. People may question theological arguments, but genuine charity possesses undeniable persuasive power. A peaceful family, an honest merchant, a forgiving spouse, and generous hospitality preach the Gospel every day.

The encounter also demonstrates Francis’ remarkable gift of spiritual discernment. He did not impose identical practices upon everyone. Instead, he recognized each person’s unique vocation. Some were called to radical itinerant poverty. Others served Christ within established responsibilities. Unity did not require uniformity.

This flexibility has remained one of the enduring strengths of Franciscan spirituality. Its essential principles remain constant while their expression adapts to different circumstances. Every age presents new challenges, yet the Gospel remains unchanged. Francis taught people to discover how eternal truths illuminate contemporary life.

For the Secular Franciscan tradition, Lucchesio and Buona became enduring symbols of lay holiness. They remind every professed Secular Franciscan that profession is not a lesser imitation of religious life but a genuine vocation within the Church. The secular vocation possesses its own dignity, responsibilities, and mission.

The effects of their encounter continue into the present. Across centuries, countless married couples, single adults, widows, widowers, professionals, laborers, teachers, physicians, artisans, farmers, and countless others have discovered through the Secular Franciscan vocation that ordinary life can become extraordinary through faithful discipleship. They have demonstrated that workplaces can become places of ministry, homes can become schools of charity, and daily responsibilities can become offerings pleasing to God.

Modern society resembles the commercial world in which Lucchesio first lived. Success is frequently measured by productivity, income, influence, and possessions. Many people experience exhaustion from endless competition and consumerism. Francis still speaks through the witness of Lucchesio and Buona, reminding Christians that true fulfillment comes not through acquiring more but through loving more.

Their example challenges contemporary Christians to examine their own attachments. What occupies our thoughts? What determines our decisions? What gives us security? Francis gently directs every disciple back to Christ as the only lasting treasure.

Their story also reveals that authentic reform begins with individuals. Francis did not begin by attempting to change political structures or social institutions. He invited people to personal conversion. Converted individuals then transformed families. Renewed families strengthened communities. Renewed communities enriched the Church. The greatest revolutions in history often begin with quiet fidelity rather than dramatic public action.

Perhaps the deepest meaning of this encounter lies in the discovery that God’s call is always personal. Francis did not see merely a wealthy merchant and his wife. He saw beloved children of God capable of heroic holiness. He recognized possibilities hidden even from themselves. Through encouragement, example, and spiritual guidance, he helped awaken gifts already planted within their hearts by divine grace.

This remains the mission of every Christian mentor and spiritual guide. Rather than creating dependence, true spiritual leadership helps others discover God’s unique call. Francis pointed beyond himself toward Christ. His joy attracted others not because he sought followers for himself but because he desired every soul to know the love of God.

The meeting between Francis, Lucchesio, and Buona therefore stands as an enduring testimony to the universal call to holiness. It proclaims that sanctity belongs not only to monasteries and convents but also to kitchens, workshops, marketplaces, schools, offices, hospitals, and homes. Every place where Christ is loved becomes holy ground.

The effects of that encounter continue to echo through every generation of the Franciscan family. Whenever a married couple prays together, whenever a business owner acts honestly despite financial sacrifice, whenever a family welcomes the poor, whenever someone chooses simplicity over greed, forgiveness over resentment, or generosity over selfishness, the spirit of that first meeting lives again.

Francis did more than change the lives of Lucchesio and Buona. He revealed a vision of the Church in which every baptized person has a mission, every vocation has dignity, and every circumstance of life can become a path toward perfect charity. Their encounter became a seed planted in fertile soil. That seed grew into a worldwide Franciscan family whose branches extend across every continent and every walk of life. It continues to bear fruit wherever men and women discover that following Christ wholeheartedly does not always require leaving the world behind, but rather transforming the world from within through humility, joy, peace, mercy, simplicity, and faithful love.

The Church needs the witness of faith-filled committed witnesses today as much as ever. The Church needs lay men and women who are deeply rooted in prayer while fully engaged in the world. It needs people who bring the spirit of the Gospel into all walks of daily life in society. The Secular Franciscan vocation prepares ordinary Catholics to become extraordinary witnesses through the ordinary events of life.

In every age the Church needs people who remind the world that holiness is possible, that peace can overcome hatred, that mercy is stronger than revenge, and that love is greater than fear. The Secular Franciscan vocation continues to respond to this need. The brothers and sisters of our Secular Franciscan Family, through its unique place in the Church, its recognized canonical status, its lifelong profession, its strong spiritual foundation, and its faithful witness in everyday life, remains one of the Church’s great treasures.

St. Francis called himself and “idiota”. It was his “foolishness” that opened eyes and hearts to a treasure that only a fool for the sake of Christ (1 Corinthians 4: 10) could discover and be “foolish enough” to give it all to others, without ever losing more to give! Those who faithfully live this vocation become living signs of the Gospel, carrying the spirit of St. Francis into the heart of the world and helping all people see more clearly the face of Christ

Peace and Blessings

Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.

Regional Spiritual Assistant

 

PS – It was time that we gave Lucchesio and BuonDonna a kind and grateful remembrance. Their desire and St. Francis’ prayer were realized in each other when our Seraphic Father vested them as the first “Tertiaries” of the Franciscan Family. Do you ever pray to them?