Sontag critically interacts with Leonardo Boff's account of Francis of Assisi in the context of liberation theology. Boff wants to use Francis as a model for human liberation. Who are the poor and how does Nikos Kazantzakis, Francis of Assisi, and Leonardo Boff interpret it? Sontag reflect on these issues in the light of the Lord who saves the humble of spirit.

Francis of Assisi was born in Italy in 1182 AD. His story is one of those strange and troubling stories that create in one who reads it admiration mixed with puzzlement. It was the life of an unusual medieval saint.