Saint Francis of Paola

On a low rectangular scagliola base with cut front corners, the saint wears the black habit of the Franciscan congregation, its drapery falling to his bare feet, richly ornamented with gold patterns of flowers and foliage and a broad gilt band at the hem of the tunic and on the hood covering his head. The face, with a long beard worked in curling locks and the mouth slightly open, wears a benevolent expression.

He wears a short scapular ending in a semicircle, tied with a tasselled cord from which a rosary hangs. On his chest, a disc ringed with flames bears the word CHARITAS in gilt letters — the attribute that most defines him. The arms are held symmetrically apart, hands half open.

Francis of Paola (1416–1507) was born in Italy, entered the Franciscan Order and founded the Order of Minims, which observed, beyond the three vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, a fourth vow of help to one's neighbour and the obligation to sleep in the habit.