St. Francis of Assisi

Status: Patron saint of Animals, Ecology, and Merchants (and Frank Cottrell Boyce’s “Millions”!)

First Sighted: 1181
Last Sighted: 1226

Death: Years of poverty made St Francis ill. When he went blind, the Pope ordered his eyes to be operated on, which meant cauterising his face with a hot iron. He never recovered from his suffering and died on October 4, 1226 at the age of 45.