St Francis - San Gabriel, CA
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 34° 05.854 W 118° 06.508
11S E 397750 N 3773528
This sculpture is located at San Gabriel's Grape Vine Park.
Waymark Code: WMP929
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 07/22/2015
Views: 2
Located in a small niche atop the entrance gate to San Gabriel's historic Grape Vine Park, is this small statue of St Francis recognized by the typical robes and small bird on his sleeve. St. Francis was the patron to the Franciscan friars who operated the adjacent Mission.
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Saint Francis of Assisi (Italian: San Francesco d'Assisi; born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, but nicknamed Francesco (a tribute to France) by his father; 1181/1182 – October 3, 1226)[1][3] was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Order of Friars Minor, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis for men and women not able to live the lives of itinerant preachers, followed by the early members of the Order of Friars Minor, or the monastic lives of the Poor Clares. Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in history.
Francis' father was Pietro di Bernardone, a prosperous silk merchant. Francis lived the high-spirited life typical of a wealthy young man, even fighting as a soldier for Assisi. While going off to war in 1204, Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for his worldly life. On a pilgrimage to Rome, he joined the poor in begging at St. Peter's Basilica. The experience moved him to live in poverty. Francis returned home, began preaching on the streets, and soon gathered followers. His Order was authorized by Pope Innocent III in 1210. He then founded the Order of Poor Clares, which became an enclosed religious order for women, as well as the Order of Brothers and Sisters of Penance (commonly called the Third Order)."