For eight centuries the presence and the influence of Francis’s life and deeds have made themselves felt in the history of Christianity and in that of the rest of humanity, too. Published for the 2014 exhibition<i>Friar Francis: Traces, Words, Images</i>, held at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, a place that hosts a variety of cultural events every day and is itself a symbol of peace, the volume is a tribute to the figure of Francis, extraordinary man and saint, and it is a rare occasion of great scientific and cultural value to approach and get to know Francis through ancient and unique manuscripts from the Library of the Sacro Convento di San Francesco in Assisi. They are the oldest papal records and manuscripts that directly concern the saint from Assisi: his writings, his life, the development of the religious order he founded.