But his latest work is "not a Skylight book," says Sweeney. "To put it very bluntly, it's too Christian."

Sweeney's edition (with introduction and annotations by him) of Paul Sabatier's classic "The Road to Assisi: The Essential Biography of Saint Francis" may not appeal to everyone everywhere, but it's certainly struck a chord for many. "It's doing very well," Sweeney says, almost confessionally. Not only have The History Book Club, the Literary Guild and the Book of the Month Club chosen it, but it also opens conversations whenever Sweeney goes to speak about it.

"I suppose it reaches people principally on the level of their interest in St. Francis, so I ask people in groups to tell me why they've come to hear me," he says. Sweeney loosely divides interest in St. Francis into four categories. Some people relate to the Eco-Saint. "They really believe in their cause, and in his relationship to the earth."

Others are fascinated by Francis as Wonder Worker. "This isn't as common, and most are priests, but their devotion is intense." An even smaller minority reveres Francis as the Holy Fool, or "juggler of God," that he sought to be. Finally, some are attracted to Francis Bernardone complex and tragic relationship with his father. "No matter what, St. Francis really gets people talking," Sweeney says.

As a matter of fact, the tendency of many saints to get people talking is part of Sweeney's next book for Paraclete, "The Lure of Saints: A Protestant Explanation of Ancient Catholic Tradition." While Sweeney describes himself as "very much an Anglo-Catholic on my own slow road to Rome," his mainstream Episcopal background and brief sojourn ("I was very young, too young") at a Lutheran-run seminary mean that his approach to even the iconic Francis is grounded more in Anglican thought than in Catholic mysticism.

"Becoming a saint, for anyone of any time, involves the restrictions and ideas of their era -- but also their own unique vocation, their personality and what they believe it means to be a Christian in the world," he says.

Sweeney's annotations illuminate what St. Francis believed being a Christian in the world meant. "The historical summing-up of his life is really a tragedy. He lost control of his order, his superiors overlooked him, and his family life was a shambles. Yet look at the story of when he went to visit the sultan: He showed that respect of another culture really can lead to understanding and peace. He reminds us that we should set a table with our enemies."

What should anyone -- Christian or not -- know about St. Francis? "That he believed all the creation deserves reverence," Sweeney says. What can anyone learn from St. Francis? "That everything you do, no matter how small, has some effect on your life or someone else's."

The radical simplicity St. Francis practiced had an early effect on Jon Sweeney. "I've been interested in St. Francis since childhood. I don't know why, but I remember reading 'The Little Flowers of St. Francis' for the first time and being very moved by it." Through high school, the years at seminary in Chicago and jobs in book selling and then publishing, Sweeney retained his fascination with Frances of Assisi, known for his gentle nurturing of the environment and founding of the poverty-based Franciscan monks and Poor Clare nuns.

"This book was easy to write because I loved every minute of working on it," says Sweeney. "I was excited to be able to spend a year with St. Francis."

"Writing about Francis can be a moving experience, because God changes lives through Francis -- including mine. His penetrating yet gentle vision is in the midst of penetrating me. I see my faults and sins more clearly now than I did at this project's start."
Sweeney laughs softly. "I guess, at heart, I'm an evangelical. I want to convert people to Francis!"