St. Francis n 1: (Roman Catholic Church) an Italian and the Roman Catholic monk who founded the Franciscan order of friars (1181-1226) [syn: {Francis of Assisi}, {Saint Francis of Assisi}, {St. Francis of Assisi}, {Saint Francis}, {Giovanni di Bernardone}] 2: a tributary of the Mississippi River that rises in Missouri and flows southeastward through Arkansas [syn: {Saint Francis}, {Saint Francis River}, {St. Francis River}]