Many people are focused on the connection between the new Pope’s name (a great one) and the issue of poverty in the world. Indeed that is where Pope Francis has focused his attention in his early days as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church (and I applaud him for it greatly and the visible theology that underpins it), but there is a lesser known story that could inform another important relationship – the one between Christianity and Islam.

There are a few articles that have appeared in the Huffington Post Religion section that detail the visit St Francis of Assisi made to the Sultan of Egypt, Malik Al-Kamil. Discussions about the motivation of Francis’ visit vary as ultimately one can only assume what his real motivation was, though it’s almost certain that wanting to convert Al-Kamil was a big factor. What’s really important was the outcome.

Both men left the conversation with a high degree of respect for each other and a desire to see the people they influenced co-exist with the other without the need for conversion – at the time, that was a huge shift.

Pope John Paul II was influenced by St Francis’ approach and now we wait to see if the Saint’s namesake, Pope Francis will do the same and if so, to what degree that historical encounter between two such influential men of faith will shape his approach to interfaith relations, how that will influence the Christian community and how the leaders of Islam and the Muslim community will respond.

It’s an issue that is not divorced from Pope Francis’ focus on poverty. Where broken relationships exist, human well-being is stifled.