Franciscus, vir catholicus


Before October is out, here’s an office antiphon in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, sung in a church in northern Italy:

Franciscus, vir catholicus
et totus apostolicus,
Ecclesiae teneri
fidem Romanae docuit,
Presbyterosque monuit
prae cunctis revereri.

Francis, a man Catholic and entirely apostolic,
taught that the faith of the Roman Church be upheld,
and admonished that priests be revered before all.

It’s unusual in that it’s rhymed (aabccb, 887777): for more information about the source in a Franciscan antiphonary, see this page at Boston College Libraries.