October is the time to celebrate the life of St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day falls on the fourth of the month. This much-loved saint is especially revered for his all-encompassing embrace of God's good creation, and I am adding four new images of works in the Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection to the Francis of Assisi: The Troubadour of God page in the Themes of Faith section, showing this eco-friendly holy man posed with a whole zoo of animals. You can find a color linocut of St. Francis and an assortment of critters (left) by Virginia-based Artist Joan Wiberg; a wood panel painting of the saint, glorying in nature, by artisans of La Semilla de Dios (The Seed of God) craft workshop in El Salvador in the famous La Palma style; an etching of Francis in a veritable wildlife park by an unknown (probably East European) book plate maker; and a second print of the saint and animals by Ukrainian Graphic Artist Sergey Kirnitskiy. When I gave these menageries in art a closer look, I could make out all creatures great and small, including butterflies, birds of all kinds from doves to eagles, panthers, leopards, lions, tigers, wolves, foxes, squirrels, rabbits, deer, dogs, horses, cows, cats, camels--and, no doubt, there are a few more you can add to your own creature counts! (John A. Kohan)