Francis of Assisi

About Francis of Assisi

Francis of Assisi (1182–1226) remains a profoundly influential religious figure, earning the #212 rank in historical importance from the Pantheon project. He is most renowned for founding the Franciscan Order, one of the most significant mendicant orders in the Catholic Church, and for his deep commitment to poverty, nature, and peace. His spiritual teachings and work with the poor and marginalized established a legacy that profoundly shaped medieval Christianity and continues to resonate globally, securing his high historical placement across centuries and languages.

Despite this historical weight, his modern internet attention seems relatively modest. In 2025, Francis of Assisi accrued 1.3 million annualized Wikipedia views. To put this in context within his field, Ruhollah Khomeini, ranked significantly lower at #679 importance, commanded twice the attention with 2.5 million views, and Brigham Young (#947) drew 2.7 million. This represents an overattention gap of +3x, meaning the public’s collective curiosity online is roughly three times greater than what his historical importance ranking might suggest, indicating enduring cultural relevance that outpaces his direct historical ranking.

Encouragingly, his digital footprint shows positive growth, with his view count increasing by an impressive +17.7% year-over-year. However, this momentum is slightly tempered by a small -5% dip between the first and third quarters of 2025, suggesting that while interest is trending up overall, the immediate online attention cycle has slightly cooled.