neighbors who had first feared for the woman now rejoiced with her, and the wife was the first to tell the news of the amazing event to her husband.

¹⁸⁶A man from Monte dell'Olmo^a in the Marches one day was attaching the iron blade to his plow when the blade broke into several pieces. The man was saddened by the broken blade and even more by the loss of produce. So he cried, "O Blessed Francis, help me who trusts in your mercy! I will give your brothers an annual share of the grain, and I will do jobs for them, if I might now experience your favor that so many others have experienced." When he finished his prayer, the iron was rejoined and the blade was whole. Not a trace of the fracture remained.

¹⁸⁷A cleric from Vicalvi named Matteo drank some deadly poison. ^{Mk 16:18} He was obviously ill, and was so afflicted that he could not speak at all; he awaited only his end. Even a priest who encouraged him to confess could not pry a single word from him. But he humbly prayed to Christ in his heart, ^{Ps 14:1 [Vulgate, Ps 13:1]} to save him through the merits of blessed Francis. Soon after, he tearfully pronounced the name of blessed Francis, and with witnesses present, he vomited up the poison.

¹⁸⁸Lord Trasmondo Anibaldi was a consul of the Romans. When he exercised his office in Siena in Tuscany,^b he had by his side an assistant named Niccolò who was dear to him and always ready for household tasks. When a sudden deadly disease invaded Niccolò's jaw, doctors predicted death was near. The Virgin Mother of Christ appeared while he slept and instructed him to vow himself to Saint Francis and to visit his tomb without delay. When he got up in the morning, he recounted the vision to his lord. That lord was amazed and hurried to put it into practice. So the lord accompanied him to Assisi, and before the tomb of Saint Francis he got his friend back quickly healed.

This recovery of health was wonderful;
even more wonderful the kindness of the Virgin
who both stooped so kindly to help a sick man
and also raised up the merits of our saint.

¹⁸⁹This saint knew how to help all who called upon him, and he never considered anyone's needs beneath him.

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