ABSTRACT
This text analyzes the image of Saint Francis of Assisi created by Leonardo Boff. It is our aim to discuss how the aforementioned theologian, still living as a Franciscan friar, responded to Vatican disciplinary sanctions - reaction expressed in Boff's 1985 book Francisco de Assis: a Saudade do Paraíso (Francis of Assisi: the nostalgia for Paradise). In this cited oeuvre, a memorial exercise inspired by primitive Franciscan sources, Boff goes far beyond the mere celebration of Francis of Assisi's legend, presenting the medieval saint as an icon of Liberation Theology, a paradigmatic believer made patron of popular and progressive causes. Therefore, interpreting Francis of Assisi with the help of Christian liberationist ideals, Boff managed to question his adversaries and eventually maintained his critical viewpoint regarding the Brazilian and Roman Catholic Church established orders.
Keywords:
Liberation Theology; Leonardo Boff; Francis of Assisi; Catholic Church; 20th Century.