St. Francis Possenti (1838-1862) was the son of the governor of Assisi. At the age of 18, he became a Passionist monk, taking on the name he is more commonly known by, Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Before becoming a monk, Francis lived much like the young men of other important families. He went to a Jesuit college, where he met and joined a group of students who prided themselves with their self-given title, "Lords of Spoleto". Not surprisingly, these rowdy Italian boys enjoyed causing trouble.

One morning, the students for the rhetoric class were gathered in the classroom, waiting for their professor, Father Incelli, S.J. He was running late, and many of the boys got bored waiting. It was not long before the "Lords of Spoleto" had waged war against the other students. The two opposing sides shouted and threw pieces of chalk at each other.

A boy in Francis’ group noticed that one of the students, Philip Giovannetti, was not involved in the tumult. This had to change!

"Come on, Philip," the boy called out, "you’re on our side!"

"I’m not on anybody’s side right now. We’re supposed to be studying."

This got the attention of other "lords of Spoleto", including Francis. He watched as one of them went up to Philip.

"You’ll fight, if I say so." The bully threatened.

"No! I won’t! And you can’t make me!"

The mean boy slapped Philip in the face. Instead of lashing back, Philip replied calmly, "I hope you are satisfied. I forgive you. Now leave me alone."

Embarrassed, the rascal quietly sulked away. Francis, however, had seen the whole thing. Impressed with Philip’s meekness, and ashamed of his fellow "Lord of Spoleto", Francis apologized to Philip for his companion’s behavior.

This incident gave the two young men a new respect for each other and was the beginning of a friendship that would last their whole lives.

Over the years that followed, the two friends spent many memorable hours together. Creative and energetic, these Italian lads got together one year with a special project in mind. Francis and Philip decided to make their own nativity scene! It would take some effort, but they were determined that it would be ready in time for Christmas.

But this would be no ordinary Christmas creche. The friends planned to hand-make the figurines so they could move! Francis handled the carving, and when he was done Philip took care of the painting. A geared mechanism was built into the structure. The angels went up and down; Mary bent low in loving reverence to Jesus; and Joseph moved back and forth, as if to guard his wife and Child.

After weeks of hard work, all was ready! When Christmas came, their hand-crafted Nativity scene was proudly put on display in Philip’s home. It was a memorable Christmas for the two young men. Their work of art was deeply admired by all, as Francis controlled the mechanism, bringing the Christmas scene to life!