Editing Francis of Assisi (section)

===Missionary work during the 5th Crusade===
In the late spring of 1212, he set out for Jerusalem, but was shipwrecked by a storm on the [[Dalmatia]]n coast, forcing him to return to Italy. On 8 May 1213, he was given the use of the mountain of [[La Verna]] (Alverna) as a gift from [[Count]] Orlando di Chiusi, who described it as "eminently suitable for whoever wishes to do penance in a place remote from mankind".<ref>Fioretti quoted in: St. Francis, ''The Little Flowers, Legends and Lauds'', trans. N. Wydenbruck, ed. Otto Karrer (London: [[Sheed and Ward]], 1979) 244.</ref> The mountain would become one of his favourite retreats for prayer.<ref name="chest130">Chesterton (1924), p. 130</ref>

During the [[Fifth Crusade]] in 1219 Francis went to Egypt where a Crusader army had been encamped for over a year besieging the walled city of [[Damietta]]. He was accompanied by Friar [[Illuminatus of Arce]] and hoped to convert the [[Sultan of Egypt]] or be martyred in the attempt. The Sultan, [[al-Kamil]], a nephew of [[Saladin]], had succeeded his father as Sultan of Egypt in 1218 and was encamped upstream of Damietta. A bloody and futile attack on the city was launched by the Christians on 29 August 1219, following which both sides agreed to a ceasefire that lasted four weeks.<ref>Runciman, Steven. ''History of the Crusades, vol. 3: The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades'', Cambridge University Press (1951, paperback 1987), pp. 151–161.</ref> Probably during this interlude Francis and his companion crossed the Muslims' lines and were brought before the Sultan, remaining in his camp for a few days.{{sfn|Tolan|2009|pp=4–}} Reports give no information about what transpired during the encounter beyond noting that the Sultan received Francis graciously and that Francis preached to the Muslims. He returned unharmed.{{efn|e.g., Jacques de Vitry, Letter 6 February or March 1220 and ''Historia orientalis'' (c. 1223–1225) cap. XXII; Tommaso da Celano, ''Vita prima'' (1228), §57: the relevant passages are quoted in an English translation in {{harvnb|Tolan|2009|pp=19–}} and {{harvnb|Tolan|2009|p=54}} respectively.}} No known Arab sources mention the visit.{{sfn|Tolan|2009|p=5}}

[[File:Leprosy in La Franceschina.jpg|thumb|Francis and others treating victims of leprosy or smallpox]]
In the upper basilica at Assisi, the ministering to lepers and smallpox sufferers is depicted in a late-1200s fresco cycle attributed to Giotto.{{efn|e.g., Chesterton, ''Saint Francis'', Hodder & Stoughton (1924) chapter 8. {{harvnb|Tolan|2009|p=126}} discusses the incident as recounted by Bonaventure, an incident which does not extend to a fire actually being lit.}}

According to some late sources, the Sultan gave Francis permission to visit the sacred places in the Holy Land and even to preach there. All that can safely be asserted is that Francis and his companion left the Crusader camp for [[Acre, Israel|Acre]], from where they embarked for Italy in the latter half of 1220. Drawing on a 1267 sermon by [[Bonaventure]], later sources report that the Sultan secretly converted or accepted a death-bed baptism as a result of meeting Francis.{{efn|For grants of various permissions and privileges to Francis as attributed by later sources, see, e.g., {{harvnb|Tolan|2009|pp=258–263}}. The first mention of the Sultan's conversion occurs in a sermon delivered by Bonaventure on 4 October 1267. See {{harvnb|Tolan|2009|p=168}} }}

Whatever transpired as a result of Francis’ and al-Kamil’s meeting the Franciscans have maintained a presence in the [[Holy Land]] almost uninterrupted since 1217 and remain there (see [[Custody of the Holy Land]]). They received concessions from the [[Mameluke]] Sultan in 1333 with regard to certain Holy Places in [[Jerusalem]] and [[Bethlehem]] and (so far as concerns the Catholic Church) jurisdictional privileges from [[Pope Clement VI]] in 1342.<ref>Bulla ''Gratias agimus'', commemorated by Pope John Paul II in a [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/1992/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_19921130_p-schalluuck_it.html Letter] dated 30 November 1992. See also {{harvnb|Tolan|2009|p=258}}. On the Franciscan presence, including a historical overview, see, generally the official website at [http://www.custodia.org/default.asp?id=425 ''Custodia''] and [[Custodian of the Holy Land]]</ref>