Francis of Assisi went to Damietta, Egypt in 1219 with the intention of converting Sultan Malek al-Kamel, in the hope that the rest of the Fifth Crusade might be averted. After spending a week with the Sultan (during which he was able to work out a peace agreement with the Muslims which was summarily rejected by the Crusaders), (1) Francis went on to minister to the poor and afflicted irrespective of creed, first in Damietta, then later in the Holy Land.
During this time, a great ...