Books About Saint Francis of Assisi

In a used bookstore, I started searching through the shelves for an interesting book. Since they were on the shelves, I could only see the spines, though every now and then I pulled one out to check the cover. After a while, one appeared. It was a biography about a Nobel laureate whose main work took place in the first half of the 20th century—someone I had already read a bit about. I liked this particular book mostly because it seemed a bit more complete and included period photographs.

Even so, I kept browsing, and as luck would have it, I stumbled upon another book. I flipped through it and saw a quote that could be connected to the first book I had found. This second book was about Saint Francis of Assisi. Since the price seemed a bit high for a used book (and its cover was lined with transparent self-adhesive paper), I decided to leave it at the store and look for it online. That’s what I did, but on my way back, I forgot the title of the book. I only remembered that it was about Saint Francis of Assisi. "Well, that information should be enough," I told myself. A clear mistake—too naive.

When I started searching, books and more books about this Catholic saint began to flood in. And it makes sense: being considered one of the most relevant saints in the Catholic Church, there are countless writings dedicated to him. Of course, I couldn't find it online; I got dizzy searching—it could be this one or that one. I remembered something about the cover and its color, but there were still too many similar ones. I searched for full texts or previews, but even then, the one I had seen in the bookstore wouldn't show up. I decided to cut my losses: I canceled the web searches, went back to the bookstore, searched the shelves, found it, took a picture, and that was it—matter settled.

However, the sheer amount of books about this saint stuck in my mind, and I decided to create a list with the ones I come across. Of course, I won't read them all—in fact, I already read one once and that's enough for me—but while searching, I couldn't find a single list that collected books related to this saint either. Instead, what exists are partial lists from some bookstores and slightly more complete ones on Franciscan websites.

For some years now, following the Pope's choice of the name, the prices of these books skyrocketed. Not only that, but old and abandoned editions were reprinted, and that's how one discovers that besides the many friars of the order who wrote about the saint, classic writers whom one knows for other works wrote about him as well.

Among the recognized writings of Francis of Assisi are:

• Canticle of the Creatures
• Praises at All Hours
• Letter to the Entire Order
• Blessing to Brother Leo
• True Joy
• Letter to the Rulers of the People, etc.

First biographies, with probable dates of authorship:

• First Life (Legenda Prima) by Thomas of Celano (1228–1230).
• Mirror of Perfection (Speculum Perfectionis), author unknown.
• Second Life (Legenda Secunda) by Thomas of Celano (1247).
• Major Legend of Saint Francis (Legenda Maior) by Saint Bonaventure (1263).
• Legend of the Three Companions (Legenda Trium Sociorum) (1270–1300).

Works, Biographies, and Related Works:

• The Little Flowers of Saint Francis (Fioretti). (Anonymous Latin compilation made from oral traditions based on the deeds and miracles of the saint and his monks from the late 13th century. Most of its material comes from oral sources about the saint and his circle, gathered by a friar from the Marches, Ugolino Brunforte, assisted by others. They wrote them in Latin under the title Actus Beati Francisci et sociorum eius between 1327 and 1337, consisting of fifty-three chapters.) (Wikipedia).
• Lauds by Jacopone da Todi (13th Century). (Praises)
• To Saint Francis of Assisi by Torquato Tasso (16th Century). (Poem)
• Paradise, Canto XII in The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (1313–1321). (Poem)
• Este es el Floreto de Sant Francisco... (This is the Booklet of St. Francis: which treats of the life [and] miracles of the blessed lord St. Francis and the rule of the friars minor) by Meinardo Ungut; Estanislao Polono (1492).
• Lives of Saint Francis and Saint Clare by Saint Bonaventure (1221–1274); Gutiérrez, Juan (1560).
• Epitome of the Prodigious Life and Miracles of the Saint Especially Favored by God... Saint Francis of Assisi... by Bozal Andrés de Ustarroz, Antonio, O. Cist.; Muñoz, Francisco Vicente (1770).
• Life of the Seraphic Father and Patriarch Saint Francis of Assisi: Annotated by R. P. Candido Chalipe (1796). (Annotated biography)
• Panegyric Sermon of the Great Father and Patriarch Saint Francis of Assisi by Juan González (1816).
• Seraphic Gallery, or Life of the Great Father and Patriarch Saint Francis of Assisi... by Francisco de Asís Mestres (1857).
• Legend No. 1: St. Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds by Franz Liszt (1863). (Piano composition)
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Emilia Pardo Bazán (1882). (Biography, 2 volumes)
• Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi: Italian Chronicle of the Middle Ages by Antonio Cesari (1885).
• The Life of St. Francis of Assisi (La Vie de Saint François d’Assise) by Paul Sabatier (1894). (Biography)
• Saint Francis (Sant Francesc) by Mosén Jacint Verdaguer (1895). (Poetry)
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Hermann Hesse (1904). (Biographical-poetic)
• The Game of Flowers by Hermann Hesse. (Short story)
• St. Francis of Assisi (El Pobrecillo de Asís) by Johannes Jørgensen (1907). (Biography)
• Franciscan Lily (Lirio Franciscano) by Ramón María del Valle-Inclán (1907). (Poem in the book Aromas de leyendas. Versos en loor de un Santo Ermitaño).
• The Venerable Third Order of Saint Francis of Assisi: After the Brief "Qui Multa" of H.H. Leo XIII by Francisco María Ferrando y Arnau (1907).
• Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Fr. Leopoldo de Chérancé (1910).
• The Motives of the Wolf (Los motivos del lobo) by Rubén Darío (1913). (Poetry)
• The Shadow of the Brother of Assisi by José Hernández Amador (1913). (Poem)
• The Ballad of Little Red Riding Hood by Federico García Lorca (1919). (Poem)
• St. Francis of Assisi by Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1923). (Biography)
• Motifs of Saint Francis by Gabriela Mistral (1923). (Poems)
• Poem to Saint Francis of Assisi by Rafael Arévalo Martínez (1923). (Poem taken from the book Las rosas de Engaddi)
• Account of Saint Francis's Kiss to the Leper by Juana de Ibarbourou (? Date). (Poem)
• The Canticle of the Creatures translated/adapted by León Felipe (Felipe Camino Galicia de la Rosa) (? Date).
• Saint Francis of Assisi in Spanish Sculpture by Francisco Javier Sánchez Cantón (1926).
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Luis de Sarasola (1929). (Biography)
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Lorenzo Conde (1932). (Biography)
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Juan N. Quagliotti (1935).
• Prints of Saint Francis of Assisi: Drama in Three Acts by P. A. X. (1936). (Theater)
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Apostolado de la Prensa (1942).
• Saint Francis of Assisi by José Russotti (1943). (Biography)
• Contest on Saint Francis of Assisi by Sanmarti y Compañía (1943).
• Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Fr. Cuthbert (1944). (Biography)
• Complete Writings of Saint Francis of Assisi and Biographies of His Time. Editorial Católica (1945).
• Saint Francis of Assisi: Universal Patron of Catholic Action by Editorial "Jodoco Ricke" (1945).
• Jacobina Sietesolios: (Last Moments of Saint Francis of Assisi) by Luis Valle Goicochea (1946).
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Fray Juan R. de Legísima and Fray Lino Gómez Canedo (1949). (Biography)
• Evocation of Saint Francis of Assisi: The Saint and the Man by Rafael Maya (1950).
• Saint Francis (El pobre de Asís / God's Pauper) by Nikos Kazantzakis (1953). (Novel)
• The Knight of Christ: Francis of Assisi by Fr. Hilarino Felder (1957).
• Saint Francis of Assisi by S. R. S., X. Tulla (1957). (Children's book)
• Saint Francis of Assisi and the Franciscan Spirit by Ivan Gobry (1957).
• The Joyful Beggar: The Story of Saint Francis of Assisi by Louis de Wohl (1958).
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Anne Saint-Varent (Luisa María Martí García) (1962).
• Saint Francis of Assisi (La Hora XXV, al servicio del médico) (1965). (Magazine)
• Saint Francis of Assisi: Writings, Little Flowers, Biographies of the Saint, Mirror of Perfection (1965).
• Life of Saint Francis of Assisi: A Paraphrase by Álvaro Pombo (1966). (Biography)
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Isabel Flores de Lemus (1968). (Children and Young Adult)
• The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi in the Paintings of the Cloister of San Pietro in Montorio: (Spanish Academy of Fine Arts in Rome) by Antonio Blanco Freijeiro (1968).
• The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Fr. Anacleto Jacovelli (1975).
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Eduardo Sierralta Ybarra (1976). (Theater)
• Let Us Pray with Brother Francis: Prayers and Texts of Saint Francis of Assisi for the Use of Franciscan Fraternities Cefepal (1976).
• Saint Francis of Assisi in His Writings and Ancient Biographies by Juan Bautista Montorsi (1980).
• Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Francis Solano in Literature by Ricardo Dino Taralli (1980).
• To Saint Francis of Assisi by Miguel Torga (Adolfo Correia da Rocha) (1981). (Poem)
• Saint Francis of Assisi: Tenderness and Vigor by Leonardo Boff (1982).
• Religious Life According to Saint Francis of Assisi by Fernando Uribe Escobar (1982).
• Saint Francis of Assisi in Contemporary Hispanic Literature by Vicente González Martín (1985).
• The Second Life of Francis of Assisi by José Saramago (1987). (Theater)
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Ana Favazza (1989).
• Saint Francis of Assisi and the Turtle Doves by Gloria Savedra (1989).
• Saint Francis of Assisi and the Little Devils by Carlos Valle (1990).
• The Brother of Assisi by Ignacio Larrañaga (1991).
• Saint Francis of Assisi: Writings, Biographies, Documents of the Era. Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, B.A.C. (1991).
• Wisdom of a Poor Man by Eloi Leclerc (1992).
• Brother Francis by Julien Green (1996).
• Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Michel Feuillet (1997). (Biography)
• Presence of the Writings of Saint Francis of Assisi in the Anonymous of Perugia by Walter Heras Segarra (1997).
• Francis, What Are You Thinking?: A Novel About Saint Francis of Assisi by Jesús Capo (1998). (Novel)
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Manuel Díaz Álvarez (1998).
• The Suicide of Saint Francis by Santiago Martín (1998).
• Legends of Love and Virtue: Saint Francis of Assisi (1998). (Fiction)
• Saint Francis of Assisi: Return to the Gospel (Saint François d’Assise. Le retour à l’Évangile) by Eloi Leclerc (1998).
• Francis of Assisi: Return to the Gospel by Eloi Leclerc (? Date).
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Kevin Morgan Watson (1999).
• Francis: The Saint of Assisi: A Novel (also translated as Francis, the Madman of Assisi) by Joan Mueller (2000). (Historical novel)
• The Wisdom of Saint Francis of Assisi by Angel H. Pratt (2001).
• Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi by Donald Spoto (2002).
• The Cross as the Root of Perfect Joy: Francis of Assisi Speaks to Priests by Carlo María Martini, Raniero Cantalamessa (2002).
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Luis Rutiaga (2005).
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Jacques Le Goff (2006).
• The Eucharist in the Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi by Alberto Hernández (2007). (Essay)
• Saint Francis of Assisi: New Biography by Fr. Eliécer Sálesman (2007). (Biography)
• Saint Francis of Assisi: Unbullated Rule, Bullated Rule, The Little Flowers of Saint Francis (San Francesco D'Assisi. Regola non bollata. Regola bollata. I fioretti di san Francisco) by Franco Maria (2008).
• Francis of Assisi: Step by Step by Tomás Gálvez Campos (2009).
• Narrative Theology: An Approach from the Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi by José María Siciliani Barraza (2009).
• Thoughts of Saint Francis of Assisi by Isabel Martínez Moreno (2012).
• Saint Francis of Assisi (Saints: Friends of God) by Luis Pérez Simon (2012).
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Giuseppe Crescimbeni (2013). (Biography)
• Saint Francis of Assisi by Brian Wildsmith (2013).
• Letter from Saint Francis of Assisi to Today's Youth by Leonardo Boff (2013).
• Praying with Saint Francis of Assisi (Talking with Jesus) by Mº Victoria Triviño Monrabal (2013). (Prayers)
• The Pope and Saint Francis: A Message of Faith for the World's Children (? Date). (Children's book)
• Saint Francis of Assisi: The Saint of Poverty by Liliana Ferreirós (2014).
• The Way of the Cross: St. Francis of Assisi by Martin Schumer (2014).
• In the Feeling of Francis by Fray Martínez Jorge (2014).
• Francis of Assisi: The Most Human of All Saints by Niklaus Kuster (2015).
• Saint Francis and Saint Clare Tell Us Their Lives by Guadalupe Labrador and Marifé Ramos González (2017).
• Praised Be You, My Lord: Francis of Assisi, A Life Made into Praise by José Antonio Guerra (2017).
• Francis of Assisi: History and Legend by Carlos Amigo Vallejo (2017).
• Historical and Biographical Chronology of Francis of Assisi by Fray Sergio Carballo (2017).
• Core Elements of Saint Francis of Assisi's Charism: The Franciscan Identity by Fernando Uribe (2017).
• Saint Francis of Assisi in the Work of Francisco de Zurbarán and Joan Miró: Validity of the Holy and the Beautiful Over Time by Higinia Silvia Bernad Gil (2017).
• Francis of Assisi: The Denied History by Chiara Mercuri (2018). (Biography)
• Saint Francis of Assisi (Teachers of Faith No. 1) by Nicoletta Lattuada (2018).
• Novena to Saint Francis of Assisi to Regain Serenity and Sobriety and Keep Us Away from Chaos (Renewed Heart No. 30) by Laila Pita (2019). (Novena)
• Saint Francis of Assisi: The Rebellion of a Saint (Lives of Saints No. 1) by Alfredo Barra, Blanca Castro Iturrieta (Editor) (2019).
• Life of Saint Francis of Assisi: Francis, What Are You Thinking? (Fictionalized Lives of Saints No. 3) by Jesús Capo (2019).
• Saint Francis of Assisi: Patron Saint of Animals by Estela Socías Muñoz (2019).
• Saint Francis of Assisi: A Poor Man for the Poor by Blanca Castro Iturrieta (? Date). (Children's book)
• Saint Francis of Assisi: At the Dawn of a Joyful Existence by Gianluigi Pasquale (? Date).
• Saint Francis: The Answer to the Question No One Asks (San Francesco. La risposta alla domanda che nessuno pone) by Gianluigi Pasquale (2019).
• Franciscan Poets at [http://www.fratefrancesco.org/lit/poesia/91.poetas.htm](http://www.fratefrancesco.org/lit/poesia/91.poetas.htm)

Air conditioning water

Walking through the city, I found a simple yet effective device related to the drainage of water discharged by air conditioners. The pragmatism combined with the ingenuity of these people solved a problem.

A small pipe connected to the hose where the water comes out of the outdoor unit extends from the balcony, crosses the sidewalk, and falls onto a growing tree.

Pros: you don't have to walk around with a container collecting and throwing away the water, the water doesn't "drip" down walls or floors or fall onto the sidewalk, it doesn't "splash" people walking below (something very common and a source of complaints in building associations), it doesn't waste water, and the water ends up being useful as necessary nourishment for the plant.

This type of water is very acidic and is harmful to certain garden compositions, unless it's for acid-loving or acid-tolerant plants; it's also water that works well for alkaline soils. Apparently, the little tree in the picture is unaffected and continues to grow.

Pumpkin / Squash Juice

In a Chinese supermarket, I bought a can of a drink—a juice I wasn't familiar with. Since it seemed strange to me, I bought it to try it, given that I like trying different things.
At first glance, I thought it was cucumber juice. I picked up the can, and at the checkout, I asked the cashier if it was indeed cucumber juice, and he told me, "No cucumber, squash juice, not found in Argentina, squash from back home."

Before drinking it, I read everything I could in Spanish; the only large text visible says "Good flavor." The rest of what is printed on the can is in Chinese (incomprehensible to me). Even above "Good flavor," there is something written in Chinese, but in the middle, it has an image of red lips...?

Then I looked at a sticker attached with information in Spanish, which reads Ingredients: "pumpkin juice, water, sugar, and aroma." Aroma? Could it mean flavorings? And below, it says "winter squash species."

I drank it; it tasted like stewed fruit with caramel. Later, I associated it with the squash known in Argentina as cayote (mostly in northern Argentina), although that squash is native to the Americas and not China (as will be seen later, they belong to the same Cucurbitaceae family).

I looked at the can again, and the drawing no longer looked like a cucumber to me. It looked like a green squash; the flower was very similar to a regular, common squash plant, and the stem at the end was the same, but the shape, the green color, the little white dots, and the inside with seeds set it apart from a traditional squash.

Upon re-reading the can, this time the part in English, I first learned that it is not Chinese but Taiwanese—Made in Taiwan—and then the text Winter Gourd Juice Drink, which translates to winter pumpkin/squash juice drink.

Since "winter squash/gourd" is what repeats in both English and Spanish, I went to look it up and found it. It is also known as Chinese squash, white gourd, wax gourd, as well as ash gourd, mao gua, winter melon, hairy melon, fuzzy squash, hairy cucumber, qua chi / moqua / gua moa. Scientifically, the species appears to be Benincasa hispida, of the variety var. Chieh-gua.

References, visited on 01-31-2020
•    https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benincasa_hispida
•    https://elholandespicante.com/ingredientes/mao-gua-o-melon-de-invierno/
•    https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/horticulture/vegetables/commodity-growing-guides/asian-vegetables/a-f/chi-qua-embenincasa-hispida-var.-chieh-guaem

Jugo de calabaza.

En un supermercado chino me compré una lata de una bebida, un jugo que desconocía, y como me resultaba extraño, lo compre para probarlo, habida cuenta que me gusta probar cosas diversas.
A primera vista pensé que se trataba de jugo de pepino, cargué la lata, y en la caja le pregunté al cajero chino, si efectivamente era jugo de pepino y me dijo “no pepino, jugo de zapallo, no hay en Argentina, zapallo de allá”.
Antes de consumirlo, leí todo lo que pude en español, lo único que se ve en grande es “Buen sabor”. El resto de lo que está impreso en la lata está en chino (incomprensible para mí). Incluso, arriba de “Buen sabor”, hay algo escrito en chino pero en el medio tiene la imagen de unos labios rojos ¿…?
Luego miré una etiqueta que trae pegada con información en español, que dice Ingredientes: “jugo de calabaza, agua, azúcar y aroma” ¿aroma? ¿serán aromatizantes?  Y abajo dice “especie de calabaza de invierno”.
Me lo tomé, tenía un gusto a compota con caramelo, luego los asocié la zapallo que en Argentina se conoce como cayote (más que nada en el norte argentino), aunque ese zapallo es propio de América y no de China (como se verá después, pertenecen a la misma familia Cucurbitáceas).
Volví a ver la lata, y el dibujo ya no me parecía un pepino, parecía un zapallo verde, la flor era muy similar a una planta de zapallo común y corriente, y el cabito en la puta, lo mismo, pero la forma, el color verde, los puntitos blanco y el interior con las semillas, lo alejaban de un zapallo tradicional. A volver a leer la lata, está vez lo que estaba en inglés, primero me entero que no es chino sino taiwanés, Made in Taiwan, y luego la leyenda Winter Gourd Juice Drink que sería bebida de jugo de calabaza de invierno. Como lo que se repite en inglés y español es la calabaza de invierno, fui a buscar eso y lo encontré, también se lo conoce como calabaza china, calabaza blanca, calabaza de la cera, así como también calabaza de ceniza, mao gua, melón de invierno, melón peludo, calabaza difusa, pepino peludo, qua chi / moqua / gua moa. Científicamente la especie es Benincasa hispida al parecer, de la variedad var. Chiehgua.


Referencias, visitadas el 31-01-2020
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benincasa_hispida
https://elholandespicante.com/ingredientes/mao-gua-o-melon-de-invierno/
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/horticulture/vegetables/commodity-growing-guides/asian-vegetables/a-f/chi-qua-embenincasa-hispida-var.-chieh-guaem

Agua de aire acondicionado.

Caminando por la Ciudad, encontré un dispositivo simple pero efectivo, relacionado con el drenaje del agua que desechan los aires acondicionados. El pragmatismo sumado al ingenio de estas personas, solucionó un problema. 

Un pequeño caño que está conectado a la manguera por la que sale el agua de la unidad exterior, se extiende desde el balcón, cruza la vereda, y cae sobre un árbol en crecimiento.

Puntos a favor, no se tiene que andar con un recipiente recogiendo y tirando el agua, no “chorrea” el agua por paredes, pisos ni cae en la vereda, no “salpica” a los de abajo (algo muy común, motivo de quejas en los consorcios), no derrocha el agua, y el agua termina siendo de utilidad como alimento necesario para la planta. 

Este tipo de agua es muy ácida y para algunas composiciones de jardines es perjudicial, salvo que se trate de plantas acidófilas o tolerantes a la acidez, también es agua que sirve para suelos alcalinos. Al parecer, al arbolito de la imagen no le afecta y continúa con su crecimiento, tiene toda la pinta de ser un Salix humboldtiana conocido como Sauce criollo, árbol que suele crecer al borde de ríos y arroyos, por lo cual necesita de bastante agua, aunque no se encuentra en el listado de árboles* aptos para la ciudad.

* https://www.buenosaires.gob.ar/laciudad/noticias/cuales-son-los-arboles-aptos-para-la-ciudad

Libros sobre San Francisco de Asís.

En una librería de usados me puse a buscar por los estantes algún libro que me resulte interesante, y por estar en los estantes solo veía los lomos, cada tanto sacaba alguno para verle la tapa. Al rato apareció uno. Una biografía sobre un personaje, premio nobel, cuya actividad la desarrolló mayormente en la primera mitad del siglo XX, del que ya había leído algo, y este otro libro me gusto más que nada porque me pareció un poco más completo y además trae fotografías de época.

Aun así seguí mirando libros, y da que pego con otro libro, el cual ojeo y veo una cita que se puede relacionar con el que había encontrado primero. Este segundo libro era referido a San Francisco de Asís. Como su precio me pareció un poco alto para un libro usado (además tenía la tapa forrada con papel autoadhesivo transparente) se me ocurrió dejarlo en la librería, ir a internet y buscarlo por allí. Eso fue lo que hice, pero al volverme, me olvidé el nombre del libro. Solo recordaba que trataba sobre San Francisco de Asís. Bueno, con ese dato me alcanza, me dije. Claro error, demasiado ingenuo. Cuando me puse a buscar, empezaron a surgir libros y más libros referidos a este santo católico. Y tiene su razón de ser, al estar considerado como uno de los santos más relevantes de la Iglesia Católica posee muchos escritos en su favor. Por supuesto, no lo encontré en la web, quedé mareado buscando, podría ser este o aquel, recordaba algo de la tapa, el color pero aun así había muchos similares, y los buscaba completos o con vista previa, y tampoco así aparecería el que había visto en la librería. Decidí cortar por lo sano, cancelé las búsquedas vía web, volví a la librería, lo busqué en los estantes, lo encontré, le tomé fotografía y listo, asunto terminado.

Pero me quedó en el aire la cantidad de libros referidos a dicho santo que hay, y me propuse realizar un listado con los que vaya encontrando. Claro que no los voy a leer, de hecho ya alguna vez leí uno y con eso me basta, pero al buscar tampoco encontré un listado que concentre libros relacionados con este santo, más bien lo que hay son listados parciales de algunas librerías y poco más completo en webs franciscanas.

Desde hace algunos años, con la elección del nombre por parte del Papa, los precios de estos libros se dispararon, no solo eso, sino que se reeditaron ediciones antiguas y abandonadas, y así uno se entera que además de los muchos frailes de la orden que escribieron sobre el santo, también lo hicieron escritores/as clásicos/as que uno los conoce por otras obras.

Entre los escritos reconocidos de Francisco de Asís están:
- Cántico de las criaturas
- Alabanzas en todas las horas
- Carta a toda la orden
- Bendición a fray León
- La verdadera alegría
- Carta a las autoridades, etc.

Primeras biografías, con fechas probables de autoría:
- Leyenda primera (Legenda Prima) de Tomás Celano (1228–1230).
- Espejo de perfección (Speculum Perfectionis), de autor desconocido.
- Leyenda segunda (Legenda Secunda) de Tomás Celano (1247).
- Leyenda mayor de San Francisco (Legenda Maior) de San Buenaventura (1263).
- Leyenda de los tres compañeros (Legenda Trium Sociorum) (1270–1300).

- Florecillas de San Francisco. (Compilación latina anónima realizada sobre las tradiciones orales en base a los hechos y milagros del santo y sus monjes de fines del siglo XIII. La mayor parte de su material proviene de fuentes orales sobre el santo y su entorno, que fueron reunidas por un fraile de las Marcas Ugolino Brunforte, ayudado por otros. Las escribieron en latín con el título de Actus Beati Francisci et sociorum eius entre 1327 y 1337, y consta de cincuenta y tres capítulos.) (Wikipedia).

- Laudas de Jacopone da Todi (Siglo XIII). (Alabanzas)
- A San Francisco de Asís de Torquato Tasso (Siglo XVI). (Poema)
- El Paraíso, Canto XII en La Divina Comedia de Dante Alighieri (1313-1321). (Poema)
- Este es el Floreto de Sant Francisco: el qual tracta dela vida [et] milagros del bienauenturado señor sant Francisco e de la regla de los frayles menores de Meinardo Ungut; Estanislao Polono (1492)
- Vidas de San Francisco y Santa Clara de Buenaventura, Santo 1221-1274; Gutiérrez, Juan (1560)
- Epitome de la prodigiosa vida y milagros de el santo especialmente favorecido de Dios... San Francisco de Assis... de Bozal Andres de Ustarroz, Antonio, O. Cist.; Muñoz, Francisco Vicente (1770)
- Vida del Seráfico Padre y Patriarca San Francisco de Asís: Anotado de R. P. Candido Chalipe (1796). (Biografía anotada)
- Sermón panegricio del Gran Padre y Patriarca San Francisco de Asís de Juan González (1816)
- Galería seráfica, o sea, Vida del gran padre y patriarca San Francisco de Asis... de Francisco de Asís Mestres (1857).
- Leyenda número 1: San Francisco predicando a los pájaros de Franz Liszt (1863). (Composición pianística)
- San Francisco de Asís de Emilia Pardo Bazán (1882). (Biografía, 2 tomos)
- Florecitas de San Francisco de Asís: crónica italiana de la Edad Media de Antonio Cesari (1885).
- La Vie de Saint Francois d’Assisi de Paul Sabatier (1894). (Biografía)
- Sant Francesc de Mosén Jacint Verdaguer (1895). (Poesía)
- San Francisco de Asís de Hermann Hesse. (1904) (Biográfico-poético)
- El juego de las flores de Hermann Hesse. (Cuento)
- El Pobrecillo de Asís de Johannes Joergensen (1907). (Biografía)
- Lirio Franciscano de Ramón María del Valle-Inclán (1907). (Poema en el libro Aromas de leyendas.  Versos en loor de un Santo Ermitaño).
- La venerable orden tercera de San Francisco de Asís: después del breve "qui multa" de S.S. León XIII de Francisco María Ferrando y Arnau (1907).
- Vida de San Francisco de Asís de P. Leopoldo de Chérancé (1910).
- Los motivos del lobo de Rubén Darío (1913). (Poesía)
- La sombra del Hermano de Asís de José Hernández Amador (1913). (Poema)
- La balada de Caperucita de Federico García Lorca (1919). (Poema)
- San Francisco de Asís de Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1923). (Biografía)
- Motivos de San Francisco de Gabriela Mistral (1923). (Poemas)
- Poema a San Francisco de Asís de Rafael Arévalo Martínez (1923). (Poema tomado del libro Las rosas de Engaddi)
- Relato del beso de San Francisco al leproso de Juana de Ibarbourou (¿Fecha?). (Poema)
- El Cántico de las Criaturas en versión de León Felipe (Felipe Camino Galicia de la Rosa) (¿Fecha?)
- San Francisco de Asís en la escultura española de Francisco Javier Sánchez Cantón (1926).
- San Francisco de Asís de Luis de Sarasola (1929). (Biografía).
- San Francisco de Asís de Lorenzo Conde (1932). (Biografía)
- San Francisco de Asís de Juan N. Quagliotti (1935).
- Estampas de san Francisco de Asís: drama en tres actos de P. A. X. (1936). (Teatro)
- San Francisco de Asís de Apostolado de la Prensa (1942).
- San Francisco de Asís de José Russotti (1943). (Biografía)
- Concurso sobre San Francisco de Asís de Sanmarti y Compañía (1943).
- Vida De San Francisco De Asís de R. P. Cuthbert (1944). (Biografía)
- Escritos completos de San Francisco de Asís y Biografías de su época. Editorial Católica. (1945)
- San Francisco de Asís: patrón universal de la acción católica de Editorial "Jodoco Ricke" (1945).
- Jacobina Sietesolios: (últimos momentos de San Francisco de Asís) de Luis Valle Goicochea (1946).
- San Francisco de Asís de Fray Juan R. de Legísima y Fray Lino Gómez Canedo (1949). (Biografía)
- Evocación de San Francisco de Asís: el santo y el hombre de Rafael Maya (1950).
- El pobre de Asís (o también El pobrecillo de Dios) de Nikos Kazantzakis (1953). (Novela)
- El caballero de Cristo. Francisco De Asís de P. Hilarino Felder (1957)
- San Francisco de Asís de S. R. S., X. Tulla (1957). (Infantil)
- San Francisco de Asís y el espíritu franciscano de Ivan Gobry (1957).
- El mendigo alegre: historia de San Francisco de Asís de Louis de Wohl (1958).
- San Francisco de Asís de Anne Saint-Varent (Luisa María Martí García) (1962).
- San Francisco de Asís. (La Hora XXV, al servicio del médico) (1965) (Revista)
- San Francisco de Asís: Escritos, Florecillas, Biografías del Santo, Espejo de Perfección. (1965)
- Vida De San Francisco de Asís. Una paráfrasis de Álvaro Pombo (1966). (Biografía)
- San Francisco de Asís de Isabel Flores de Lemus (1968). (Infantil y juvenil)
- La vida de San Francisco de Asís en las pinturas del claustro de San Pietro in Montorio: (Academia Española de Bellas Artes en Roma) de Antonio Blanco Freijeiro (1968).
- La vida de San Francisco de Asís de P. Anacleto Jacovelli (1975).
- San Francisco de Asís de Eduardo Sierralta Ybarra (1976). (Teatro)
- Oremos con el hermano Francisco: oraciones y textos de San Francisco de Asís para el uso de las fraternidades franciscanas Cefepal (1976).
- San Francisco de Asís en sus escritos y en sus antiguas biografías de Juan Bautista Montorsi (1980).
- San Francisco de Asís y san Francisco Solano en la literatura de Ricardo Dino Taralli (1980).
- A San Francisco de Asís de Miguel Torga (Adolfo Correia da Rocha) (1981). (Poema)
- San Francisco de Asís. Ternura y vigor de Leonardo Boff (1982).
- La vida religiosa según San Francisco de Asís de Fernando Uribe Escobar (1982).
- San Francisco de Asís en la literatura hispánica contemporánea de Vicente González Martín (1985).
- La segunda vida de Francisco de Asís de José Saramago (1987). (Teatro)
- San Francisco de Asís de Ana Favazza (1989).
- San Francisco de Asís y las tórtolas de Gloria Savedra (1989).
-  San Francisco de Asís y los diablillos de Carlos Valle (1990).
- El hermano de Asís de Ignacio Larrañaga (1991).
- San Francisco de Asís. Escritos. Biografías. Documentos de la época. Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, B.A.C. (1991).
- Sabiduría de un Pobre de Eloi Llecrec (1992).
- Hermano Francisco de Julien Green (1996).
- Vida de San Francisco de Asís de Michel Feuillet (1997). (Biografía)
- Presencia de los escritos de san Francisco de Asís en el anónimo de Perusa de Walter Heras Segarra (1997).
- Francisco, en qué piensas?: novela sobre San Francisco de Asís de Jesús Capo (1998). (Novela)
- San Francisco de Asís de Manuel Díaz Alvarez (1998).
- El suicidio de San Francisco de Santiago Martín (1998).
- Leyendas de Amor y Virtud. San Francisco de Asís. (1998) (Ficción)
- Saint François d’Assise. Le retour à l’Évangile (Francisco de Asís Un hombre nuevo para una sociedad nueva) de Eloi Leclerc (1998).
- Francisco de Asís. El retorno al Evangelio de Eloi Leclerc (¿Fecha?).
- San Francisco de Asís de Kevin Morgan Watson (1999).
- Francisco: el santo de Asís: una novela (traducida también como Francisco el loco de Asís) de Joan Mueller (2000). (Novela histórica)
- La sabiduría de San Francisco de Asís de Angel H. Pratt (2001).
- Francisco de Asís. El santo que quiso ser hombre de Donald Spoto (2002).
- La cruz como raíz de la perfecta alegría: Francisco de Asís habla a los sacerdotes de Carlo María Martini, Martini, Raniero Cantalamessa (2002).
- San Francisco de Asís de Luis Rutiaga (2005)
- San Francisco de Asís de Jacques Le Goff (2006).
- La Eucaristía en la fe de San Francisco de Asís de Alberto Hernández (2007). (Ensayo)
- San Francisco de Asís. Nueva Biografía de P. Eliécer Sálesman (2007). (Biografía)
- San Francesco D'Assisi. Regola non bollata. Regola bollata. I fioretti di san Francisco de Franco Maria (2008).
- Francisco de Asís. Paso a paso de Tomás Gálvez Campos (2009).
- Teología Narrativa. Un enfoque desde las Florecillas de San Francisco de Asís de José María Siciliani Barraza (2009).
- Pensamientos de San Francisco de Asís de Isabel Martínez Moreno (2012).
- San Francisco de Asís (Santos. Amigos de Dios) de Luis Pérez Simon (2012).
- San Francisco de Asís de Giuseppe Crescimbeni (2013). (Biografía)
- San Francisco de Asís de Brian Wildsmith (2013).
- Carta de San Francisco de Asís a los jóvenes de hoy de Leonardo Boff (2013).
- Orar con San Francisco de Asís (Hablar con Jesús) de Mº Victoria Triviño Monrabal (2013). (Oraciones)
- El Papa y San Francisco. Un mensaje de fe para los niños del mundo (¿Fecha?). (Infantil)
- San Francisco de Asís. El santo de la pobreza de Liliana Ferreirós (2014).
- The Way of the Cross. St.  Francis of Asisi de Martin Schumer (2014).
- En el sentir de Francisco de Fray Matínez Jorge (2014).
- Francisco de Asís: el más humano de todos los santos de Niklaus Kuster (2015).
- San Francisco y Santa Clara nos cuentan su vida de Guadalupe Labrador y Marifé Ramos González (2017).
- Loado seas mi Señor. Francisco de Asís, una vida hecha alabanza de José Antonio Guerra (2017).
- Francisco de Asís. Historia y Leyenda de Carlos Amigo Vallejo (2017).
- Cronología Histórica y Biográfica de Francisco de Asís de Fray Sergio Carballo (2017).
- Núcleos del carisma de san Francisco de Asís: la identidad franciscana de Fernando Uribe (2017).
- San Francisco de Asís en la obra de Francisco de Zurbarán y Joan Miró: vigencia de lo santo y lo bello en el tiempo de Higinia Silvia Bernad Gil (2017).
- Francisco de Asís. La historia negada de Chiara Mercuri (2018). (Biografía)
- San Francisco de Asís (Maestros de la fe nº 1) de Nicoletta Lattuada (2018).
- Novena de San Francisco de Asís para Recuperar la Serenidad y la Sobriedad y nos Aleje del Caos (Corazón Renovado nº 30) de Laila Pita (2019). (Novena)
- San Francisco de Asís. La rebeldía de un santo (Vida de Santos nº 1) de Alfredo Barra, Blanca Castro Iturrieta (Editor) (2019).
- Vida de San Francisco de Asís: Francisco, ¿en qué piensas? (Vidas de santos noveladas nº 3) de  Jesus Capo (2019).
- San Francisco de Asís. Patrono de los animales de Estela Socías Muñoz (2019).
- San Francisco de Asís. Un pobre para los pobres de Blanca Castro Iturrieta (¿Fecha?). (Infantil)
- San Francisco de Asís. Al alba de una existencia gozosa de Gianluigi Pasquale (¿Fecha?).
- San Francesco. La risposta alla domanda che nessuno pone de Gianluigi Pasquale (2019).
- Poetas Franciscanos en http://www.fratefrancesco.org/lit/poesia/91.poetas.htm

Detention at the subway entrance

I was able to witness the arrest of two people; actually, they had already been detained and were kept handcuffed, sitting on the sidewalk. It was a couple. Next to the woman were the items they had stolen from their victims, mostly cell phones—there were about five or six. They were pickpocketing on the Subway Line D where it connects with Line C, at Pueyrredón Station, and they were caught right there. They were guarded by three or four police officers. They were waiting for more police to arrive, perform the required forensic procedures, and take them away under arrest. Under arrest? Actually, detained. Since it is a minor, bailable offense, they are surely already free and ready to commit crimes again. And that is what happened in the brief minutes I was there: two groups of police arrived—one group, which I assume were forensic officers, took down details, made an inventory, took photos, used white latex gloves, secured the seized items, etc. And another group put the thieves into a patrol car and took them away.

It is no coincidence that I happened to run into these caught pickpockets, at the same time as the rest of the neighbors and passersby who were also observing the scene of the two detained thieves. Incredibly, whether by luck or thanks to work across various policies, during the year 2019 all crime stats went down in CABA (car theft, homicides, motorcycle robberies, armed robberies, etc.) except for one: one crime increased, precisely theft/pickpocketing. (1)

According to the City Government, it's not that there are more theft crimes than before, but that people are reporting them more. Huh...? We are in the same boat; it's just that now it is a formal crime and before it was informal, belonging to the unrecorded crime rate, but that is impossible to prove—it is usually assumed to be three times the official figure. Be that as it may, my takeaway is that theft increased, and rather than excuses, I prefer to see policies aimed at reducing it.

And I start to think: to what extent do petty thieves know or ignore the current reality of the Subway? Is it worth it for them to carry out criminal activity there despite the risk of getting caught? Don't they read the news, don't they listen to the media? Do they know about the presence of cameras and some police officers around there? Are they oblivious to the current social reality that swept them away? Did they fail to see the advancement of cameras hindering their criminal tasks and end up becoming victims of anti-theft cameras? Did ignorance hurt them? Or even so, with everything stacked against them, is the risk of being caught preferable because there are so many thefts that they only catch a tiny percentage of small-time thieves, and these two just had the bad luck of falling as frustrated criminals? Or is the risk of stealing in the subway still profitable compared to alternative options (e.g., shopping malls, trains, concerts, or whatever)? Or were they foreigners recently arrived from some country in worse conditions than ours who, believing in easy theft, fell due to clumsy ignorance?

There was a period in time that was phenomenal for pickpockets: there was no control, they obtained all kinds of goods (cell phones, wallets, watches, etc.), no one bothered them, and if they were caught, just like now, a short time later they were free to go back to their old tricks. Then there was a movement of subway users who began to chase them, expose them, alert people whenever one was lurking or striking, hunt them down, and turn them over to the police. The company never took action against these petty thieves; the unions (neither left-wing nor Peronist) ever took action against these petty thieves. It was groups of people within the immense world of regular subway users brought together through social networks. In the end, the City Government took partial control (and as we can see, theft still increased). Police and cameras—above all, cameras. There are cameras even under the floor tiles. There are posts that don't just have one camera; they have about five together. Because the City Government placed cameras in the subway and in every nook and cranny it could, distributing them throughout the whole city. And they announced it; at least it was all over the news media. Not only that, but about a year ago, they put into use a Facial Recognition system aimed at searching for fugitives from justice—fugitives listed in the National Consultation Register of Contumacy and Captures (CONARC). In this way, thousands upon thousands of faces captured by the cameras are analyzed and matched against the registry, and if there is a match, they catch them, capturing quite a few this way. Since everything computer-related is prone to errors and a percentage of those caught are false positives, upon arresting an innocent person, they naturally scare them, check, realize they are not the wanted person, and let them go. What I have never read about these false positive cases is whether they record in any way that the person caught is not the wanted individual, and consequently, whether the non-wanted caught person (an innocent non-fugitive) could fall into the same trap again on the next corner. I would like to know if there are cases of recurring false positives—poor person, who, as I see it, due to their genetics and despite being a good citizen, ends up stigmatized by software based on appearance as a match for fugitive criminals. All in all, the system is inefficient in some senses; for example, in CABA they still do not use it to locate missing persons—hopefully they will update it for this purpose soon as well.

To date, as of late January 2020, there is already a second city joining in with Facial Recognition Cameras: Villa Carlos Paz. It is no coincidence; at a national level, in terms of importance, after CABA and Buenos Aires comes Córdoba with its historical, political, social, and economic weight. Even though it is the second city to install and use this type of digital device, it beats CABA to the punch by going further: they don't just look for fugitives, but also people barred from leaving the country and the whereabouts of missing/disappeared persons for any reason (forced, voluntary, psychological issues, etc.) who are being searched for. According to news reports, this second city's database is fed with information from the province, neighboring provinces (e.g., Santiago del Estero), and two or three other sources.

Once again, we see the inefficiency of a State at the national level, since with two cities possessing the same (or very similar) device, they use it in a partial, biased, and incomplete manner, when they could complement each other. State bureaucracy (at both provincial and national levels) clashes with common sense: a fugitive from Córdoba in Capital Federal, just like a fugitive from Buenos Aires in Córdoba, are both still fugitives from justice; the same goes for a fugitive from Chaco or Río Negro. The final result is the same here or there. It is not a matter of freedom being at stake as happened in some states in the U.S. in 1840, or as might happen now where one state has the death penalty and another does not. Here in Argentina, it is simpler: a fugitive in one province or another is the same from a punitive standpoint—procedures vary, and the same applies to a missing person being searched for. I would think there are flaws elsewhere, and those flaws are solved, in my view, by centralizing everything that affects all residents equally. For example, having one bus card valid for all buses in the country is not the same as having twenty-five or more different cards; which of the two systems benefits the citizen?

These two cities would be the vanguard. Although they tested the system in Córdoba Capital first, I do not know if they kept it permanently or if they tested it and then installed it to start in Villa Carlos Paz, or if they chose the latter for being a summer tourist destination. I also don't know if there are more cities in the country with Facial Recognition Cameras, but it is a growing trend, just like Municipal Cameras were—they started in one city and then spread to many cities across the country. The case of Tigre and its implementation of municipal cameras some years ago was well known. And as always happens, state technology always arrives after private technology, given that the mass use of security cameras began with private entities—first through companies, and then extending to individuals. And there is something notable to keep in mind: when a person (whether at home or in a commercial store) has the option to install a private security camera—that is, presented with both options, to install it or not—the person opts to do it, they install it. It is rare, almost unheard of, for someone to say, "No, I am not going to install it because the camera invades my privacy, my intimacy, and it does the same to third parties." And this same reasoning applies to the third parties filmed by the cameras. Except in the case of juvenile delinquents filmed throwing stones at municipal cameras—often in marginalized areas—the vast majority of people do not stop to break cameras, nor do they protest, nor do they organize against cameras, nor do they organize in any way (theoretically or practically) to raise the issue of security/surveillance cameras (public or private), including groups of people who, having the chance to vote "yes" or "no" to cameras, opt for "yes"—think of homeowners' associations, clubs, associations, or foundations. However, there is a minuscule, reduced group of people who attack security cameras (to this day, without any success): left-wing politicians (an incredible paradox if we look at it from the "control" perspective, and somewhat appropriate if we look at it from the "misleading discourse" perspective), some law professors in university classrooms (especially criminologists and constitutional scholars who follow radical stances like garantismo, understood as the unrestricted defense of the criminal against the attack they suffer from society and especially from the State), and some journalists (tabloid types who don't even believe what they write but seek to provoke with an inflammatory article). Despite all that, reality slaps them in the face. For the vast majority of people, who have already internalized the fact that we are constantly being filmed, it doesn't seem to affect our privacy and intimacy. There are even methods to trick/evade facial detection—not just one, but up to four (2) or more methods. And yet, people remain indifferent to cameras.

And what is the concrete use of cameras? They are almost useless as a preventative measure. A while ago, there were cheap plastic cameras that were actually replicas, accompanied by a printed sign that read "Smile, you're on camera." They were as effective as the plastic crow placed on a balcony to scare away pigeons, which ends up covered in bird droppings without scaring even the chicks. The same happened with fake cameras: criminals steal with their faces uncovered while fifty real cameras film them; they are not frightened by anything that records. The use comes after the crime has been committed: it serves as evidence or to identify and search for suspects. Most of the time, it saves time and avoids mistaking people's identities, in addition to helping identify clothing, vehicles, accomplices, etc. It also serves cases where perpetrators defend themselves and their actions end up being justified or not, depending on what is seen on the cameras. In short, the useful function comes after the illicit act is committed. And even then it is insufficient. I think, for example, of the case of Russia, where many cars have cameras: once again, reality overrides the arguments of theorists. Whether due to corruption, fraud, organized crime, police mafias, traffic accidents, etc., private individuals put a camera in their car for their own safety—something that has not yet arrived on a massive scale to Argentine vehicles.

In 1948, George Orwell published Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), (3) a novel depicting a society where information is manipulated, and mass surveillance and political and social repression are practiced. Over time, the novel became a classic; it was studied, analyzed, and sparked much debate. If anything stuck, it was the concept of Big Brother, (4) that all-seeing eye identified with totalitarian regimes (despite the use Orwell himself gave it). But as time passed, there were some transformations: on a small scale, it ridiculously ended up as a television show, but on a large scale—if we think of small or medium-sized cities fully monitored with cameras on every corner—it is something starting to resemble Orwell's creation. Yet, it does not assume an oppressive role (at least for now), nor is it linked to totalitarian regimes, but rather to liberal democracies (with varying degrees of differentiation). What would have been Stalin's dream (totalitarian) or Locke's nightmare (liberal) is finally arriving, and it comes in an unforeseen way, almost contrary to how it was conceptualized (due to the argument of dangerousness). To a certain extent favorable, society in general does not perceive surveillance as a danger (in fact, it is adapted to it); prima facie, it is not applied to persecute political opponents, "internal enemies," minorities, or any suppression of free individuals. The use given to cameras is precisely for the enforcement of justice against crime—that is, the State resolving disputes between free individuals as one more tool to protect violated rights.

Citations:
1.    https://www.cronista.com/economiapolitica/Bajaron-todos-los-delitos-en-la-Ciudad-de-Buenos-Aires-menos-uno-cual-fue-20200115-0032.html Accessed 01/23/2020
2.    https://retina.elpais.com/retina/2019/10/22/innovacion/1571730281_157570.html Accessed 01/23/2020
3.    https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_(novela Accessed 01/23/2020
4.    https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Brother_(personaje Accessed 01/23/2020