The life of St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) as related by followers who gather after his death to tell stories so that Leone can record them: a privileged and virile youth, a prisoner of war, an heir who turns away from his father and gives all to the poor, a beggar for others, and an inspiration to friends who accept the Gospels' life of poverty.
Tango blu is a night club in Milan where various bizarre characters meet. Among them a womanizing photographer and a porter who works in a slaughterhouse.
The story of Padre Pio (1887-1968) from the onset of the stigmata during World War I, when he prayed that soldiers' suffering be his, until his death. The story is told by Emilia, Pio's friend, to a Vatican official reviewing Padre Pio's potential canonization. We watch local people venerate the humble Capuchin monk, we see petty jealousies within the Church almost bring him down, and we experience his decision to build a Home for the Relief of Suffering, a labor of love begun just after World War II. Emilia and her husband Dr. Sanguineti work tirelessly beside the humble but sensible Pio.
