Plot

A fictional biography of St. Francis of Assisi, narrated by Frate Leone, a humble beggar who wanders the Earth in search of God. On reaching Assisi he meets Francis, a rich young noble who is tormented by a similar quest. Francis believes that God is speaking to him through Leone. He thus abadons his life of opulence, comes into conflict with his father and, following divine orders, goes out into the world to preach love, the ideal of poverty and the rejection of material goods. Leone follows him and stands by him up until his death.

Writing history

Written in Antibes in 1953. Dedicated "to Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the Saint Francis of our time".

Greek editions

  • First punlished in Eleftheria newspaper, 1954
  • N. Kazantzakis, O Ftohoulis tou Theou, Athens: Difros 1955, 1957
  • N. Kazantzakis, O Ftohoulis tou Theou, Athens: Fexis 1961
  • N. Kazantzakis, O Ftohoulis tou Theou, Athens: Eleni Kazantzakis 1964 (and subsequent editions)

Foreign editions & translations

  • Niko Kazantzakis, Min Frans af Assisi, translated into Norwegian by Aksel Akselson Oslo: Tanum 1954
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Min helige Franciscus. Pax et bonum, translated into Swedish by Börje Knös, Stockholm: Ljus 1956
  • Niko Kazantzakis, Min Frans af Assisi, translated into Danish by Karl Hornelund, Copenhagen: Jespersen og Pio 1956
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Mein Franz von Assisi, translated into German by Helmut von den Steinen, Hamburg: Wegner 1956. Frankfurt/Hamburg: Fischer Bücherei 1964. Munich/Berlin: Herbig 1979. Hamburg: Rowohlt 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989. Frankfurt/Berlin: Ullstein 1990, 1994
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Het stenen Hoofdkussen: Franciscus van Assisi, translated into Dutch by Hans Edinga, Delft: Gaade 1957
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Le Pauvre d'Assise, translated into French by Gisèle Prassinos and Pierre Fridas, Paris: Plon 1957, 1958, 1960, 1970, 1984, 1991
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, El pobre de Asís, translated into Spanish (from French) by Enrique Pezzoni, Buenos Aires: Sur 1958, 1959, 1962. Buenos Aires: Lohlé 1973, 1977, 1981. Madrid: Debate 1989. Barcelona: Salvat 1995. Buenos Aires: Lohlé-Lumen 1996.
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Pyhä köyhyys. Romani Fransiskus Assisilaisen elä mä stä, translated into Finnish by Aarno Peromies, Helsinki: Tammi 1961
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Saint Francis, translated into English by Peter Bien, New York: Simon and Schuster/Ballantine Books 1962. Simon and Schuster 1965. Simon and Schuster/Ballantine Books 1966
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, God's pauper: St Francis of Assisi, translated into English by P. A. Bien, Oxford: Cassirer 1962. Oxford: Cassirer/London: Faber and Faber 1975. Oxford: Cassirer 1999
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Biedaczyna z Asyzu, translated into Polish by Leszek Kossobudski, Warsaw: Pax 1962
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, S. Francisco de Assis, translated into Portuguese by Sebastião Rodrigues, Lisbon: Arcádia 1963
  • Nikos Kazancakis, Allahin fukaras. Assis' li Francis, translated into Turkish by Sabiha Serim, Istanbul: Habora Kitabevi 1969, 1972, 1975
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Svätý úbožiačik, translated into Slovenian by Štefan Caltík, Bratislava: Tatran 1970
  • Nikos Kazancakis, Allahin garibi, translated into Turkish by Ender Gürol, Istanbul: Cem 1974. Istanbul: İz 2003
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, O pobre de Deus, translated into Portuguese by Milton Persson, Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira 1979. Sao Paolo: Circulo do Livro [1982?].
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Bojiot siromav, translated into Slav Macedonian, Skopje: Misla 1982
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Il poverello di Dio, translated into Italian by Costantino Nikas, Sant'Arpino: Istituto di Studi Atellani 1983
  • Nikosz Kazantzakisz, Isten szegenykeje: Assisi Szent Ferenc, translated into Hungarian by Lukacsi Huba, Budapest: Szent Istvan Tarsulat 1984
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Il poverello di Dio, translated into Italian with an introduction by Francesco Maspero, Milan: Mondadori 1987. Casale Monferrato: Piemme 1989, 1990
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Chuďásek Boží: život sv. Františka, translated into Czech by Božena Protopapasová á and Jana R. Friesová, Prague: Odeon 1993
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Oče Frančišek, translated into Slovenian by Jaroslav Novak, Družina, 1995
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Božji ubožec: roman o sv. Frančišku Asiškem, translated into Slovenian by Jaroslav Novak, Celje: Mohorjeva družba / Ljubljana: Brat Frančišek 2000
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, O pobre de Deus, translated into Portuguese by Ísis Borges Belchior da Fonseca, Sao Paolo: Arx 2002
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Saint Francis, introduced by John Michael Talbot, Chicago: Loyola Press 2005
  • Translated into Farsi, Tehran 1962, 1975

Theatre performances & adaptations

  • Frangiskos, performance in Buenos Aires 1982