decreed that every year their podestà, whoever he is, is obliged to have it roofed and repair it if necessary.

Another time the general minister wanted to build a small house there for the brothers of that place where they could sleep and say their Hours. At that time especially, all the brothers of the religion, and those who were coming to the religion, were coming and going to that place. For this reason those brothers were being worn out almost daily. And because of the large number of brothers gathering in that place, they had no place where they could sleep and say their Hours, since they had to give up the places where they slept to others. Because of this they frequently endured a lot of trouble because, after so much work, they could hardly provide for the necessities of their own bodies and the good of their own souls.

When that house was already almost finished, blessed Francis returned to that place. While he was sleeping in a small cell one night, at dawn he heard the noise of the brothers who . . .^a were working there. He began to wonder what this could be. "What is that noise?" he asked his companion. "What are those brothers doing?" His companion told him the whole story.

Blessed Francis immediately sent for the minister and said to him: "Brother, this place is a model and example for the entire religion. And it is my will that the brothers of this place endure trouble and need for the love of the Lord God, so that the brothers of the whole religion who come here will take back to their places a good example of poverty, rather than have these brothers receive satisfaction and consolation. Otherwise, the other brothers of the religion will take up this example of building in their places. They will say: "At Saint Mary of the Portiuncula, which is the first place of the brothers, such and such buildings are built, so we can certainly build in our own places, because we do not have a suitable place to stay."

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[HE REFUSES TO STAY IN A CELL SPECIALLY PREPARED FOR HIM]

One of the brothers, a spiritual man, to whom blessed Francis was very close, was staying in a hermitage. Considering that if blessed Francis came there at some time he would not have a suitable place to stay, he had a little cell built in a remote place near the place of the brothers, where blessed Francis could pray when he came. After a few days, it happened that blessed Francis came. When the brother

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⁶¹Quapropter populus civitatis Assisii per longum tempus omni anno constituit ut, quicumque esset illorum potestas teneretur, ipsam facere cooperiri et reparari, si esset necesse.

⁶²Alio tempore, minister generalis volebat ibi facere quandam parvam domum pro fratribus illius loci, ubi possent quiescere et dicere horas suas, ⁶³maxime quia illis temporibus ad illum locum omnes fratres de Religione et qui veniebant ad Religionem recurrebant et veniebant, propter quod multum fatigabantur fratres illi quasi cotidie; ⁶⁴et etiam propter multitudinem fratrum convenientium in loco illo non habebant locum ubi possent quiescere et dicere horas suas, ita quod oportebat dare illis loca sua ubi iacebant. ⁶⁵Et ex hoc multas tribulationes multotiens patiebantur, quia post multum laborem non poterant quasi satisfacere necessitati corporis et utilitati anime providere.

⁶⁶Cumque iam quasi illa domus esset edificata, ecce reversus est ad locum illum beatus Franciscus, et dum quiesceret in quadam cellula in nocte quadam audivit in mane tumultum fratrum qui] laborabant ibi, cepit mirari quid hoc esset; ⁶⁷unde interrogavit socium suum dicens: « Quis est hic tumultus? Quid operantur illi fratres? ». ⁶⁸Socius eius narravit ei omnia sicut erant.

⁶⁹Qui statim fecit vocari ministrum dicens illi: « Frater, iste locus est forma et exemplum totius Religionis; ⁷⁰unde magis volo quod fratres istius loci sustineant tribulationes et necessitates amore Domini Dei, ut fratres totius Religionis qui huc veniunt reportent bonum exemplum paupertatis in locis suis, quam si haberent suas satisfactiones et consolationes, ⁷¹et alii fratres de Religione sumerent exemplum hedificandi in locis suis dicentes: ⁷²In loco Sancte Marie de Portiuncula, qui est primus locus fratrum, talia et tanta hedificia hedificantur, bene possumus hedificare in locis nostris, quia non habemus aptum locum ad manendum ».

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¹Quidam frater, spiritualis homo, cui nimis erat familiaris beatus Franciscus, manebat in quodam heremitorio. ²Et considerans quod si aliquando veniret illuc beatus Franciscus [non haberet aptum locum ad manendum], fecit fieri in quodam loco remoto prope locum fratrum quandam cellulam, ubi posset [orare, cum veniret] illue beatus Franciscus.³Et factum est, non post multos dies, advenit beatus Franciscus. ⁴Cumque duceretur a fratre illo ad videndum eam,