St Francis of Assisi - Canticle of Creatures (Umbrian + English)

The Canticle of the Creatures, written by St. Francis of Assisi, is also known as the the Canticle of the Sun. This hymn was written during the transition period in the development of the Italian language from Latin, and is the earliest known vernacular literature written in the Umbrian dialect of Italian. Well known Catholic author G.K. Chesterton said that this hymn “is a supremely characteristic work and much of Saint Francis could be reconstructed from that work alone“. There are three sections to the Canticle: 1. A praise to God for His creations such as “Brother Sun“, “Sister Moon“, “Brother Wind“, “Sister Water“ This section of the Canticle was written at the end of St. Francis’s life (1224) as he was recovering from an illness with St. Claire and the Poor Sisters in San Damiano. At this point in his life, St. Francis was almost completely blind, and yet through his suffering, he composed this song of praise of God for all t