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The example of St Francis

Guests including New Generation Thinker Jakub Kowalewski ask whether the morality of St Francis has lessons for us today, 800 years after his death.

He renounced his fortune and lived amongst animals so does the example of St Francis help us think about issues like the wealth gap and our relationship with the environment and the natural world. October 4th is his feast day and this year the Catholic church is marking the 800th anniversary of his death.

For Radio 4's Friday night roundtable discussion programme about ideas past and present Anne McElvoy is joined by:

New Generation Thinker Dr Jakub Kowalewski, a Senior Research Fellow at St Mary's University Twickenham, author of A Philosophy of Climate Apocalypticism. He is working on the Guardians of Creation Project investigating paths to sustainable and ecologically sensitive change in the Catholic Church.

Producer: Ruth Watts

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02 October 2026