Since the beginning of the year, Antiquus has been carrying out a commercial and educational initiative dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi, on the occasion of the eight hundredth anniversary of his death.

You can find traces of this project in our online catalogue, through a selection of works dedicated to the Saint of Assisi, and on the Antiquus blog, where we have published several insights into his life, his spiritual message, and the extraordinary cultural legacy that continues to speak to our time today.

These contributions also include the article you are patiently and understandingly reading, dedicated to the Canticle of the Creatures, the beauty of nature, and the profoundly timely significance of the relationship between Saint Francis and ecology.

It was precisely thanks to this journey that I was invited to speak at the conference “Beauty and Grace: Franciscan Images in the Art of Painting and Miniature,” which will be held in Selva di Fasano, Puglia, on August 11th of this year.

A pleasant alternation between vacation and work, even if I haven't yet established exactly where one ends and the other begins.

Having been given a certain freedom in choosing topics, as a believer I decided to observe the figure of Francis from a personal perspective, without limiting myself to an exclusively devotional or rigidly traditional reading.

I therefore focused on two main themes:

• the alchemical beauty of the transformation from Francis to Saint Francis;
• the beauty of nature, starting from the Canticle of the Creatures, from the proclamation of Saint Francis as the patron saint of ecology and from the connection with Salento, a land of extraordinary beauty deeply wounded by Xylella.

This last theme also leads to the connection with OLIVAMI, the project that contributes to the rebirth of the Salento landscape through the planting of new olive trees and with which Antiquus has collaborated for some time.

Caring for nature, in fact, cannot be limited to the contemplation of its beauty. It must also translate into responsibility, attention, and concrete actions capable of restoring life to wounded landscapes.

Two short articles were born from the preparatory work for the conference.

The first, “Saint Francis and the Gold Within: An Alchemical Vision of Christian Transformation”, was published last week.

The second is the one you are reading: an in-depth look at the Canticle of the Creatures, the Franciscan vision of nature, and the reasons that led Saint John Paul II to choose Francis of Assisi as the patron saint of environmentalists.

The Canticle of the Creatures is not just a poem about nature: it is a prayer of praise and a true grammar of the relationship between man, creation, and God.

The Canticle is not simply a poem about nature

The Canticle of the Creatures, or Canticle of Brother Sun, does not describe nature as a pleasant landscape to be admired. It is first and foremost a prayer of praise: the sun, the moon, the stars, the wind, the water, the fire, and the earth do not replace God, but rather manifest his goodness, beauty, and generosity.

«And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor: from You, Most High, he brings meaning».

The sun is beautiful, therefore, because it bears a sign of the Creator. Nature is not deified: it becomes a reality through which man can recognize something of God.

This passage is also important to avoid an overly modern or simplistic reading of Francis. He is not a medieval environmentalist in the contemporary sense of the term.

His is a religious vision of creation from which, however, very concrete ecological consequences arise:

• what is a gift cannot be treated as something without value;
• that which refers to the Creator cannot be exploited without measure.

Brother, sister, and mother: the language of relationships

The most revolutionary aspect of the Song of Songs is probably the language of kinship:

• brother sun;
• sister moon;
• brother wind;
• sister water;
• brother fire;
• our sister mother earth.

Francis doesn't say "my sun," "my water," or "the earth that belongs to me." He reduces the distance between humanity and creation by calling each element brother or sister.

These words overturn the logic of possession. A brother is not a resource, a sister is not an object to be consumed.

The earth is both sister and mother: because it shares our creaturely origins and because it sustains us, governs us, and produces fruit, flowers, and herbs.

Here we find a very effective connection with OLIVAMI: the Salento olive tree is not just a productive plant, and the territory is not just agricultural land. They are part of a historical, human, and environmental relationship. When olive trees are destroyed, not only is a source of income lost: a bond between the land, the landscape, families, and generations is damaged.

The Franciscan beauty of nature is also usefulness, humility, harmony and sustenance

Francis does not separate beauty from the concrete function of creatures:

water is «very useful, humble, precious and chaste».
the fire is "beautiful and cheerful and robust and strong".

The earth, Francis writes, "sustains and governs" and produces fruit, flowers, and herbs. These words reveal a truth as old as human history and, for this very reason, still profoundly relevant: nature is not only the place where we live, but what makes our very survival possible.

Humans have always depended on the earth, water, sun, and the changing seasons. Nature nourishes, quenches thirst, illuminates, warms, and provides the essential conditions for life. Its beauty, therefore, lies not only in the evocative images it offers us, but also in its tangible and silent capacity to sustain our existence.

Francis seems to capture this dimension perfectly when he attributes to natural elements qualities that are not merely physical, but almost moral. Water, defined as "useful, humble, precious, and chaste," is the most obvious example: it descends, adapts, reaches the lowest places, and places itself at the service of life without imposing itself.

Contemplation of nature thus also becomes a form of teaching. In its balance, its generosity, and its apparent simplicity, creation offers humanity a model of moderation, humility, and harmony.

A song born in pain, not in idyll

The Canticle takes on even greater meaning considering the circumstances in which it was born. According to Franciscan tradition, Francis composed the main part at San Damiano in 1225, after a night marked by the suffering of his illnesses and during a period of severe physical weakness. It is therefore not the carefree song of a man serenely observing a beautiful landscape: it is the praise of a suffering person who still manages to recognize the beauty and value of life.

This circumstance creates a very strong connection with Salento

The landscape affected by Xylella must not be described solely through nostalgia for what has been lost. The Franciscan message allows us to speak of the ability to recognize the possibility of rebirth within a wound.

Francis does not deny pain. The Canticle, in fact, after the natural elements, includes:

• those who forgive;
• who endures infirmities and tribulations;
• even “our sister bodily death”.

The journey begins with the splendor of the sun and ends with suffering, reconciliation, and death. This is why it is not simply an ecological hymn: it is a comprehensive vision of existence, in which nature, humanity, fragility, and hope belong to the same harmony.

Why Saint John Paul II chose Francis

On November 29, 1979, Saint John Paul II, with the apostolic letter Inter sanctos, proclaimed Saint Francis of Assisi the heavenly patron of ecologists, that is, of those who study and work in the field of ecology.

The decision formally responded to a request presented by Cardinal Silvio Oddi, then prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, also on behalf of an international association committed to environmental issues and quality of life, but the substantial motivation indicated by the Pontiff goes much deeper.

John Paul II identifies three fundamental reasons.

1. Nature is a gift, not an absolute property

In the letter, nature is defined as a marvelous gift from God to humanity. If it is a gift, humans can use it, but not act as its unlimited master.

2. Francis perceived the unity of the creative work

The Pontiff affirms that Francis singularly perceived all the Creator's works. He didn't just love certain animals or certain pleasant aspects of nature: he recognized the entire creation as a unified, ordered reality deserving of respect.

3. The Song transforms contemplation into praise

The highest proof of this sensitivity, for John Paul II, is the Canticle of the Creatures. Francis does not stop at aesthetic admiration, but through creatures he attributes to God praise, glory, honor, and blessing.

The choice, therefore, does not stem from a generic, romantic image of the saint speaking to birds. Francis was chosen because he proposes a precise grammar of Christian ecology:

gift → brotherhood → gratitude → responsibility → care.

Not just environmental ecology

In Francis, care for creation cannot be separated from care for people. In the Canticle, immediately after the earth, forgiveness, illness, suffering, and peace appear.

This is a point that will later be developed in the concept of integral ecology: it is inconsistent to defend nature while ignoring human beings, just as it is not possible to defend human dignity while destroying the environment on which life depends.

Pope Francis, in Laudato si', calls the saint of Assisi the model par excellence of authentic and joyful care for vulnerable people and for creation. He also recalls that Franciscan fraternity unites peace, justice, and the protection of nature.

Saint Francis, Salento, and the rebirth of olive trees with OLIVAMI

Saint Francis teaches us not only to contemplate nature when it appears intact, lush, and harmonious. His message invites us to recognize it as our sister even when it is wounded, impoverished, or threatened. It is precisely in these moments that love for creation must transcend simple admiration and transform into responsibility, care, and concrete action.

This lesson takes on a particularly powerful meaning when considering Salento and the consequences of Xylella. The spread of the bacterium not only affected millions of olive trees, but also disrupted a balance built over centuries between nature, agriculture, and community. Salento's olive trees were not simply a productive resource: they were part of the landscape, of daily work, of family memories, and of the cultural identity of an entire region.

The loss of these trees has therefore caused environmental, economic, and human damage. A landscape shaped by generations has changed in the space of a few years, leaving visible voids in the land and in the lives of the people who depended on it for their livelihood.

In this context, the collaboration between Antiquus and OLIVAMI takes on a value that goes far beyond simply reforesting Salento. Planting new olive trees means contributing to the reconstruction of the landscape, supporting farmers and local communities, maintaining the connection between the land and its history, and entrusting future generations with new trees to cultivate, protect, and pass on.

The rebirth of the olive trees of Salento thus represents a contemporary form of that brotherhood with creation celebrated by Saint Francis in the Canticle of the Creatures. The beauty of nature is not simply observed or celebrated, but protected and rebuilt through concrete gestures.

For Francis, nature is not an object alien to humanity nor a simple resource to be exploited: it is a relationship. When this relationship is damaged, it's not enough to feel sorry or nostalgic for what has been lost. We must intervene, care for it, and create the conditions for life to return.

This is the deepest meaning of the collaboration with OLIVAMI: transforming the contemplation of beauty into a concrete commitment to the local area. Each new olive tree planted becomes a sign of hope, a response to the devastation caused by Xylella, and a promise for the future.

An invitation to Salento

I will talk about this connection between St. Francis, ecology, the beauty of nature and the rebirth of Salento on August 11th in Selva di Fasano, during the conference “Beauty and Grace: Franciscan Images in the Art of Painting and Miniature”

It will be an opportunity to reflect together on the relevance of the Franciscan message, the value of the Canticle of the Creatures, and the need to transform our love of nature into concrete attention to wounded territories.

In a land marked by the loss of so many olive trees, yet also capable of reacting, rebuilding, and flourishing again, the thought of Saint Francis takes on an even deeper meaning: loving nature means recognizing its value, respecting its fragility, and contributing to its rebirth.

Anyone who happens to be in Puglia during those days, or who wishes to spend a few days immersed in the beauty of Salento, its culture, and Franciscan spirituality, is welcome.

We look forward to seeing you on August 11th in Selva di Fasano to share this journey of art, nature, beauty, and hope.

To learn more about the connection between Saint Francis, art, and the manuscript tradition, we also invite you to visit the Antiquus catalogue dedicated to Saint Francis, where you will find a selection of works inspired by his figure and his message.