800th anniversary in France: St. Francis in manga!
The first manga in French dedicated to the Poverello-The poor man of Assisi
15 September 2026In a jubilee year, an unprecedented project: the first manga in French that tells the life of St. Francis has just been released. It is the result of a collaboration between the Province of the Friars Minor of France and Belgium and the Christian Editions of Emmanuel. Let us retrace the birth of this project.
"We had received from Rome a working document of the International Conference of the Franciscan Family. It invited us to invest in imagination and creativity, so that the celebrations of the Centenary could also have an impact in non-ecclesial social and cultural environments," explains Fr. Frédéric-Marie Le Méhauté, at the time Director of the Communication Service and today Minister Provincial.
This invitation met with an ancient desire of this friar, who had had the opportunity to get to know Japanese popular culture up close: to create the first manga in French dedicated to St. Francis.
"The manga format allows us to bring together a saint who died 800 years ago with a very contemporary cultural expression. It means embarking on a path of rereading, translating and rediscovering his relevance for today's world." The choice of manga therefore responds to a precise desire to transmit. Through a graphic language widely spread among the younger generations, the project intends to propose an accessible and renewed approach to the life, personality and message of St Francis of Assisi.
The challenge was entrusted to Edizioni dell'Emmanuel and Émilie Droulers, illustrator of the biographical graphic novel Carlo Acutis: On the way to Heaven.
"In manga, the pace is slow. You take the time to break down the movements and show what the characters feel; this makes them close to us and allows us to immerse ourselves in their lives! ", says the young mangaka. And, judging by the intensity of St. Francis' life, you couldn't find a story more suited to this language!
The creation of the manga was carried out in close collaboration with the friars and their collaborators. The main stages of St. Francis' life were first identified and organized, in order to build a coherent narrative progression. This preparatory phase made it possible to develop the script, which was essential before starting the graphic work. But what face should be given to Sultan Malik al-Kamil? Was it better to represent him as a distant or very friendly figure? And how to depict Br Elias, who for a long time was a controversial figure within the Order?
"For each image we had to evaluate different possibilities and make choices. We started again from the Franciscan Sources, but translating also means betraying; at the same time, it means embodying and transmitting. At times I felt like Thomas of Celano, looking for the words capable of helping our author to get as close as possible to the experience of Francis' conversion," explains Fr. Frédéric-Marie Le Méhauté.
From the first pencil drawing to the final nib work, Émilie Droulers has been able to progressively bring out a representation of St. Francis adapted to the codes of the manga, while maintaining a particular attention to historical and Franciscan sources. Through this editorial project, the Province of the Friars Minor of France and Belgium wishes to contribute to making St. Francis known or rediscovered to readers who do not necessarily know his history or Franciscan tradition.
Indeed, the French publishing house also declares itself in favour of any projects to translate the work in other countries. The invitation, therefore, is addressed to the bold: St. Francis has not yet said his last word!
Émilie Rey, Communications Office Prov. Blessed Duns Scotus
François d’Assise, le rebelle de Dieu
Emilie Droulers
Editions Emmanuel
Septembre 2026
200 p, 15€
