In Francis's lifetime it had in Italy and the Holy Land about forty houses dedicated to the care of lepers.

It is very probable that it was at _San Salvatore delle Pareti_ that Francis visited these unhappy sufferers.

He there made the particular acquaintance of a Cruciger named _Morico_.

The latter afterward falling ill, Francis sent him a remedy which would cure him, informing him at the same time that he was to become his disciple, which shortly afterward took place.

The hospital _San Salvatore_ has disappeared; it stood in the place now called _Ospedaletto_, where a small chapel now stands half way between Assisi and Santa Maria degli Angeli.