ABSTRACT
In the Middle Ages, the Franciscan movement was crucial to the development of the market economy. The Franciscans established the non-profit financial organizations known as Monti di Pietà, which are credited with establishing popular and social finance. Franciscanism allowed people and groups to live without possessions and was centred on the Gospel and the right to live sine proprio. To persuade the Church that it was possible to live without owning assets, especially those required for self-sufficiency, the Franciscans employed extreme legal techniques. Francis and his friars aimed to change the heritage of the early Christians into beggars living among the impoverished throughout the Christian Middle Ages. To convey their yearning for happiness, they turned the “camel” into something as thin as paper and coined the phrase “Blessed are the Poor”. Pope John XXII later established the impossibility of solely using goods, but this utopia continues to challenge our economy and legal systems today. Francis' story intersects with the theological history of Christian Europe, particularly the ancient theological principle of opus operatum, which concerns the dignity, honour and merit of priests.
