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On All Saints’ Day, Pam Rhodes celebrates the life of St Francis of Assisi 800 years since his death and meets Christians still inspired by his teachings.

St Francis is one of the most well-known figures in Christian history. Famous for his profound love of nature, he is the patron saint of ecology and animals, and this year has been designated by Pope Leo XIV as a Franciscan jubilee year. Pam Rhodes explores how he has inspired others to follow in his footsteps and how his legacy of faith and care lives on.

In Liverpool, Pam meets Fr Maximilian Martin at St Anthony of Padua Friary to discover what it means to live as a Franciscan friar. He found his calling after ten years as a nurse, and he shares the timeless message of St Francis - simplicity, caring for creation and serving the vulnerable - while offering a glimpse into a life of poverty, chastity and obedience right in the heart of the local community.

In Salford, we visit the Laudato Si' Centre at Wardley Hall, the diocese's ambitious response to Pope Francis’s call to care for our common home. Environment and learning officer Emily Cahill leads a group of students from St Ambrose Barlow RC Secondary School on a retreat day. Getting their hands in the soil, the students discover the beauty of nature first-hand and learn how to become the next generation of guardians of creation.

Finally, Pam heads to Birkenhead to meet Steph Worsley, a dedicated veterinary nurse with nearly 27 years of experience. Raised in a Methodist farming community, Steph proudly wears the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons badge, which features St Francis at its centre as a daily reminder of her professional oath to respect and protect all animals.

1. For All the Saints - Chester Cathedral
2. Make Me a Channel of Your Peace – St George’s RC Cathedral, Southwark
3. Way Maker - Gas Street Church, Birmingham
4. Spirit and Truth - The Monastery, Manchester
5. All Creatures of Our God and King - Our Lady's Church, York
6. For the Beauty of the Earth - Kendal Parish Church