| Summary: | The essay aims to reread the history of the first decades of the Order of Friars minor considering the key concept of ‘multitudes’. Francis’ entire biographical trajectory was characterized by a response to the mandate to evangelize. Evangelical poverty and preaching represented two characteristic aspects of his activities, as documented in hagiographic sources from the 13th century. In imitation of their Order’s founder, the friars who followed him also sought to meet the requirements of the evangelical mandate. In the decades following the saint’s death, however, the manner and purpose of missionary action changed. Considering the relationship between these communities of friars and the various multitudes with whom they came into contact thus involves investigating the process of institutionalising Francis’s charismatic experience from another perspective.
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