He did appeal. Francis was cited to appear before the magistrate. He refused to obey the summons; he had put himself, he said, under the protection of the Church.
When Bernardone heard of this answer he appealed to the Ecclesiastical Court; but the Bishop's answer to the angry father was a warning. He said that if Pietro really wished to punish his son for being good and pious, his only resource was to persuade Francis to give up all claim to his patrimony, or he could, if he chose, disinherit him.
Francis was summoned to the Bishop's palace, on the Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore. He found the place thronged by the excited citizens of Assisi. The Bishop, at that time well disposed towards the young fellow, advised him to end the quarrel with his father by renouncing all claim to his inheritance.
When Francis heard this counsel, his face beamed with joy. He stripped off his clothing, rolled it into a bundle, and laid it and the few coins he still possessed at the feet of the Bishop. He then turned to the wonder-struck citizens of Assisi:
"Mark all of you," he said, "I have given back my possessions to Pietro Bernardone; I once called him father, hereafter I address myself altogether to our Father which is in Heaven."
Pietro pushed forward; he snatched up the money and the clothing.
This drew a loud murmur from the Assisans, for the rich merchant's arrogance and avarice had alienated his fellow-townsmen; he had grown to be unpopular.
The compassionate Bishop at once flung his own cloak over the youth's shivering shoulders; his charity drew forth a pitying chorus of approval. The people, who had hitherto despised Francis as a fool, saw him suddenly in a new light; they marvelled at this singular proof of self-abnegation.
Thus the first-fruits of his mission were reaped from the impression created in many of these bystanders, who during the past two years had scornfully witnessed and mocked at his good deeds and his devout life.
The reality of the scene represented in this fresco is marvellous; it at once tells its own story. The compassionate Bishop puts his cloak round the naked youth, who holds up his hands in the act of renunciation, while the stern-looking Pietro bustles forward to snatch at the money and clothing, and also apparently to strike a blow at his son, but is held back by a wealthy-looking fellow-citizen in an ermine-lined cloak and tippet.