On the eight-hundredth anniversary of the death of Francis of Assisi, this volume reflects on faith as a living and concrete force for our time. Between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Order of the Templars and the Order of Friars Minor emerged as different responses to the same evangelical call: to serve Christ through poverty, responsibility, and care for the most vulnerable. At the heart of both experiences lies the safeguarding of faith, vocation, and the least among us - a shared ground between two forms of discipleship only apparently distant. The first part is the chivalric novel The Guardianship of the Light (Memoria Custodis Francisci Assisiensis) by Umberto Grieco, narrating the memoirs of an imaginary Templar knight entrusted with protecting Francis. The second part offers a historical and spiritual reflection by Mauro Giorgio Ferretti, in dialogue with Mauro Lubrani, with additional contributions. The Middle Ages thus emerge as a time still able to inspire the present: to safeguard means not to possess, but to serve the common good.