His importance does not lie in the
foundation of an order with certain regulations and a specific object,
but in the fact that he was a vital force. He broke the norms of the
Church whenever it seemed right to him to do so, for he was absolutely
sure of himself; without being ordained he preached to the people in his
own tongue, probably the first man (after the Provencal Peter Valdez)
who did so; without possessing the slightest authority he consecrated
his friend Clara as a nun. Innocent III., who made the suppression of
heresy the task of his life, showed great intelligence and wisdom in
sanctioning St. Francis' sermons to the people and acknowledging his
unecclesiastical brotherhood. This probably transformed a dangerous
revolutionary into a faithful servant of the Church. Maybe the Church
was indebted to St. Francis for being saved from a great early
reformation; signs of it were not wanting, and another Arnold of Brescia
might have arisen and brought about her overthrow.
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