His death is reported to have been "serene and grand as that of a patriarch." He and his wife were both taken ill together. She got worse rapidly, and they came to tell him of it. They carried him to her side. Kissing her an affectionate farewell, he said—
"Oh, my beloved and devoted companion, we have served God together in all affection. Wait for me, we shall be permitted to go together to the unspeakable joys!"
He returned to his room and lay down in great weakness. Those around saw that his last hour had come.
"My dear brother," said one of the Friars Minor, who stood beside him, "be strong and prepare thy soul to appear before thy Saviour."
Lucchese raised his head a little and smiled.
"My good father," he said, "If I had waited till now to prepare my soul I should still have confidence in God's mercy, but to tell the truth I should leave the world with less security, on account of the terrors of the passage."
But the passage had no terrors for Lucchese. He raised his arms and said—
"I feel myself free and ready, not through my merits, but through those of our Lord Jesus Christ." A few minutes after the death of his wife, he, too, followed her to Heaven.
A Dinner Party.
Once, when passing through Rome, Francis was asked by the chief of a powerful house to dinner. As he was going into the palace of the noble, he descried a number of poor people congregated in the court, to whom food was being distributed. Unable to resist the opportunity, he went down and sat among them! Matthew de Rubeis, his host, was looking out of the window and saw this, so he came out and joined him, saying—