As holy men of the church go, they are kind, holy, and welcome any level of humanity, including the poor and beggars. They are true followers of God who are untied as brothers to do their job of spreading the word of god. The bishop, in the “Bishop’s Beggar”, by Stephen Vincent Benet, is the opposite of a true; holy bishop. He was not an evil man; he just did not have the correct incentives a normal bishop would have. As it states: “So he went into the Church, for there, too, a man who bore a great name could rise,” the bishop wanted to make a name for himself and be a person with a high status in life. He was using the Church as a foothold to reach his own desires. “He was ambitious, he was clever, and he had great connections.” As days go by, a mysterious grayness settles over him, and repeats to him the same question time over and time over, “what do you in these robes, at this place, Gianfrancesco Baldi?” He did not have kind and holy thoughts as a bishop should have, but rather had thoughts of power, fame, and ambition one would find in the mind of a ruler or king. But then he has an encounter with a beggar named Luigi, who changes the bishop’s attitude, character, and incentives. The bishop of Remo converts from an ambitious man to a humble servant of God as a result of his relationship with Luigi.
The Bishop of Remo could not be a lord, for his eldest brother was a lord. He could not be a soldier because his second brother was a soldier. So he turned to the Church. Going into the Church, the bishop’s demeanor was cocky, ambitious, and power-hungry. His cockiness is displayed when it says: “when he was made bishop of Remo at an early age, the fact did not surprise him.” In addition, the bishop did not make an effort to make his city sinless and holy, for it states: “The people of Remo liked to sin pleasantly and be reminded of it as little as possible.” He could be making a name for himself by popularity, but he was not making a name for himself spiritually and through acts of holiness. And as mentioned earlier, grayness settles over him in the first days of his term as bishop. It asks the bishop the same question again and again, “What do you at this place, in these robes, Gianfrancesco Baldi? “. This meaning that due to the fact that the bishop has no holy intentions, but ambitious and power intensions, what does he do in a church, where only acts of holiness are present in the minds of the men who are there. To the reader it seems as though he will not change his ways. But, surprisingly he does when he meets Luigi the beggar.
One day, as the bishop was driving by the country side with his coach, an accident happens. The coach accidently runs over a thin gangly boy and crushes his legs so, that he is incapable of walking. The boy of course is Luigi. Luigi is taken care for at the cathedral, and later is questioned by the bishop. When Luigi is asked by the bishop what he wants he wants to be, he is greeted with the response: “A beggar!” The bishop is revolted and astonished. As the story goes on Luigi eventually becomes the bishop’s beggar, hence the title of the story. Now as one might think, a normal bishop would have been a little bit puzzled by why this boy wanted to be a beggar but nevertheless, he would have granted him his wish, and he would make sure he was safe at night and that he had enough to eat and drink. A normal bishop would care for him, for a beggar is part of the flock of sheep that belong to a bishop. Gianfrancesco instead does grant him his wish, but continues to look upon Luigi with disgust and revolt. He also does see to it that Luigi gets every care he needs, but the bishop does this out of obedience and not willingly. The bishop wants to be obedient to the pope and for him to do that the bishop must take care of his people and the ones in need. Yet, the bishop does this unwillingly. He is more worried about how the title, “Bishop’s Beggar” would affect his popularity with the people of Remo. Even though he gives everything Luigi needs, he does not truly care for, until later on.
Later on in the story, Luigi needs the assistance of the bishop. Luigi gets into a bit of trouble with the other beggars near the Cathedral steps. For as it goes, each beggar has to pay a fee for their posts on the cathedral steps. Giuseppe visits the bishop asking him is Luigi really his beggar? For if the bishop declares that he is, and then a small place for him would be cleared on the steps. But if the bishop does not declare that Luigi is his beggar, then Luigi will get thrown in the river and drowned. After a little discussion, the bishop does declare that Luigi is his beggar. Now, this act is very significant to the conversion of the bishop. Simply put, the bishop saved Luigi’s life. Even though the bishop has expressed his true feelings about Luigi by his thoughts, the bishop really does care for Luigi. For Luigi was about to die, and a beggar’s life was not that important. As Giuseppe says: “What’s one beggar more or less?” Yet, the bishop brushes those words aside and goes to save Luigi. The bishop also sees Luigi’s domicile. What the bishop sees shocks him. He cannot believe the smell of poverty that slides down the walls and floors. After that incident, the bishop visits Luigi regularly on the steps of the Cathedral. The bishop becomes a familiar figure among the beggars and he gets to know each and every beggar by his or her name. The bishop, just like that, transforms.
The bishop’s transformation slowly but surely completes. He becomes a familiar figure with the beggars. Talking with them and developing friendships. In addition, one time Luigi tells the bishop of the poor and down side of Remo, and the bishop takes this to heart and focuses on making it right. This meaning, giving money and helping the poor, the beggars, and the ill. Also, the demeanor of his table of dinner changed. Before when the bishop was different of character, his companions at dinner consisted of courtiers, scholars and rich people. Now, it was more priests and the middle-class who smelled of poverty. Lastly, the bishop shows his true new form at the death bed of Luigi. Luigi dies when cannons from the French strikes the cart where he was sitting on. Luigi converses with the bishop until his last breath and before he dies he asks for the blessing the bishop once denied Luigi. The bishop gives it to him, Lugi meets the Lady of death, and the tears come in gushes out of the bishop’s eyes. He is heart-broken. So, the conversion of the Bishop becomes complete. He goes form a decisive and ambitious man to a kind holy and lovable server of God who fights for the maimed and poor and excuses himself from the company of the rich. Gianfrancesco Baldi is a changed man, “He that desires to be a true Christian must be experimentally acquainted with repentance and remission of sins”. This is more or less how Baldi converted into a kind and holy man.
Outside Source quote: www.jcrylequotes.com/category/conversion Internet.
