Short answers, pulled from the story.
Francis of Assisi, born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone around 1181, was an Italian mystic, poet, and Catholic friar who founded the Franciscan order. The son of a prosperous silk merchant, he gave up his wealth to live as a beggar and itinerant preacher.
Francis of Assisi died on the evening of Saturday, the 3rd of October 1226, singing Psalm 141. He was declared a saint by Pope Gregory IX on the 16th of July 1228, and the next day the pope laid the foundation stone for the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.
During the Fifth Crusade in 1219, Francis of Assisi went to Egypt hoping to convert the Sultan Al-Kamil or be martyred in the attempt. He crossed the Muslim lines, stayed in the sultan's camp for a few days, preached to the Muslims, and returned unharmed.
The stigmata of Francis of Assisi were marks resembling the wounds of crucified Christ that he was said to have displayed after a vision on the 17th of September 1224 on the mountain of Verna. Brother Leo recorded the first definite account, describing a six-winged seraph that gave Francis the five wounds of Christ.
Francis of Assisi is associated with animals and the environment because he saw nature as the mirror of God, called all creatures his brothers and sisters, and preached to the birds. Pope John Paul II declared him the patron saint of ecology on the 29th of November 1979.
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina chose Francis as his papal name upon his election on the 13th of March 2013, in honour of Francis of Assisi and because of his concern for the poor. It is the first time a pope has taken the name.
Around 1220, at Greccio near Assisi, Francis of Assisi celebrated Christmas by setting up the first known crèche, or Nativity scene. He used a straw-filled manger set between a real ox and donkey so worshipers could contemplate the birth of Jesus directly through the senses.