Retablo of Saint Francis of Paola

“Named for St. Francis of Assisi, Francis of Paola (1416-1507) founded a religious order known as the Penitent Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi, in 1452. In 1492, he changed the order’s name to Minims because he wished his friars to be considered as the least (minimi) in the household of God. Francis of Paola was a very popular subject in retablo art. The saint is depicted as an old man with a long gray beard, wearing sandals and the dark brown Minim habit. The latter consisted of a tunic, cord of St. Francis of Assisi, and a short scapular hanging down in front a little below the waist and rounded off at the ends, to the back of which is sewn a small round hood that is frequently drawn over the head. A Rosary is suspended from Francis’s cincture, and he leans on a staff, symbolic of his role as a monastic founder. In the upper right corner, the word Caritas, Francis’s motto for the Minims, appears in an aureole emitting rays of light toward the saint. The building in the background represents the monasteries that Francis built during his lifetime. The fiery red sky behind Francis alludes to his immunity to the effects of fire, and hence also to his being invoked for protection against fires.” (Rev. Joseph F. Chorpenning, O.S.F.S., S.T.L., Ph.D., notes in curatorial file for 05.OP.616)