Editing Foolishness for Christ (section)

== Western Christianity ==
[[File:Cavallucci - San Benedetto Giuseppe Labre.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Benedict Joseph Labre]]]]
In Western Christianity there have been several saints who lived lives that were rather eccentric and seemingly foolish. Among the earliest of them was St. [[Nicholas of Trani]], a young homeless man who died in 1094 AD. He apparently never stopped repeating the phrase '[[Kyrie Eleison]]' and behaved foolishly.<ref name=":0" /> Similarly Blessed [[Pietro Crisci of Foligno|Peter of Foligno]] lived in voluntary poverty and was deemed crazy.<ref name=":1" /> 

Other notable lay men who led saintly albeit eccentric lifestyles were [[Trevi nel Lazio|Blessed Peter of Trevi]], [[Teobaldo Roggeri]], [[Benedict Joseph Labre]], St. [[Saint Salaun|Salaun of Brittany]], [[Ludovico Morbioli]] and [[Venerable Casimiro Barello|Casimiro Barello]] among others. The key characteristics of foolishness for Christ in Western Christianity are sleeping rough (outdoors) and homelessness, a minimalistic lifestyle with very few if any possessions and a strict dedication to prayer and self-renunciation.

Some ascetics are known as [[mendicant]]s and are organised into [[mendicant orders]]. The most famous example in the Western church is [[Francis of Assisi]], whose order was known for following the teachings of Christ and walking in his footsteps. Thus, upon joining the order, Franciscans gave away all possessions and focused on preaching in the streets to the common man.

[[Juniper (friar)|Servant of God, Brother Juniper]], an early follower of the [[Franciscan]] order, was known for taking the doctrine of the Franciscans to the extreme. Whenever anyone asked for any of his possessions, he freely gave them away, including his clothes. He once even cut off the bells from his altar-cloth and gave them to a poor woman.<ref>Frith, Uta. (1989) ''Autism: Explaining the Enigma''. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.</ref> His fellow Franciscans had to watch him closely, and strictly forbade him from giving away his clothes. While such behaviors were embarrassing to his brothers, he was also recognized as a pure example of the Franciscan order and thus esteemed.

"The Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi",<ref>Hudleston, Dom R. (1953) ''The Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi", 1st English translation, revised and amended. London: Burns & Oates.</ref> which documents the oral traditions of the Franciscans, told several stories of "Brother Juniper". The most famous of these is the story of how Brother Juniper, when he heard a sick brother request a pig's foot as a meal, took a kitchen knife and ran into the forest, where he saw a herd of swine feeding. There, he quickly cut the foot off of one of the swine and carried it back to the brother, leaving the swine to die. This angered the herdsman, who complained to Saint Francis. Saint Francis confronted Brother Juniper, who joyfully exclaimed, "It is true, sweet father, that I did cut off the swine's foot. I will tell thee the reason. I went out of charity to visit the brother who is sick." Brother Juniper likewise explained to the angry herdsman who, seeing the "charity, simplicity, and humility" (Hudleston, 1953) in Brother Juniper's heart, forgave him and delivered the rest of the pig to the brothers.