Francisco was a 15th-century Italian hermit and religious founder from Paola, Calabria. Born around 1416 to a pious family, he sought a life of solitude and prayer, living as an anchorite in a coastal cave from the age of fifteen. Although named after Francis of Assisi, he was never ordained as a priest. He eventually established a community of followers, which evolved into the Order of Minims, a group characterized by extreme humility and strict dietary abstinence. He died in 1507 and is recognized as a saint in the Catholic and Anglican traditions.