Saint Frances is studied in literature. He is the Patron Saint of Italy, has founded three orders (the Friars, the Clares and the Secular Franciscans) and has understood the meaning of life, which is living in fraternity. He was a poet, a singer, a writer, a visionary, a forerunner. His most famous composition, the Canticle of the Creatures – Laudes Creaturarum – is a magnificent ode to God and to every part of the Creation, which Saint Francis deeply respected. He is a truly contemporary figure: he teaches us to live with animals, cherish trees, look at mountains, walk barefoot on the earth. This message is the reason why I painted him.