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On Fri, 1 Jan 1999, Alex David Groce wrote:
Also, read Chesterton's ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, and wondered if anyone
else found it plausible that Silk's (brief and unsuccesssful) career as burglar was inspired in part by St. Francis' attempt to repair a ruined chapel with money stolen from his father--Chesterton concentrates quite a bit on the event and its meanings, and I'm certain Wolfe's read the book... The relevant material is in Chapter IV of the book, especially p. 54 of the Image edition... If it is a source, then Silk really is a very Chesterton-influenced figure (given the obvious Father Brown heritage).
I think someone mentioned this a while back, but the other parallel between Silk and St. Francis is that St. Francis had a vision from God which he initially interpreted literally as telling him to rebuild a particular chapel, but later came to understand as a commission to help "rebuild" the Church through his missionary order. Silk's theophany is similarly a wider commission than merely saving a few buildings.
-Rostrum