Origin of Saint Francis’ Peace Prayer

Origin of Saint Francis’ Peace Prayer

I keep seeing Saint Francis of Assisi credited as saying, “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” I have looked in several places but cannot find where Saint Francis said this.  This is a great quote, very Franciscan in its spirit, but not literally from Francis. The thought is his; this catchy phrasing is not in his writings or in the earliest biographies about him. In Chapter XVII of his Rule of 1221, Francis told the friars …