'All naked, on the bare ground'
In several biographies written by the Franciscans between the 13th and 14th centuries, Francis, taken ill, asked his companions to let him die ‘all naked, on the bare ground’ inside the church of the Porziuncola. Bonaventura da Bagnoregio writes 'he certainly wanted to conform in everything to Christ crucified, who, poor and suffering and naked, remained hanging on the cross'.
The end of Francis' life is like his birth: similar to that of Jesus. For the Church of the Counter-Reformation Francis was a model who followed the teachings of the Gospel throughout all his life.