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What does Franciscan Order stand for?
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Founded in 1209 by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi, these orders include three independent orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest contemporary male order), orders for nuns such as the Order of Saint Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis open to male and female members.
OUR FOUNDER. To look at the origins of the Franciscan Order, one must begin by recounting the story of St. Francis of Assisi's conversion. The way of life that inspired the Franciscan Order began during his time in prison after a failed effort to become a knight while fighting in a war with the town of Perugia.
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Franciscan, any member of a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the early 13th century by St. Francis of Assisi. The Franciscan order is one of the four great mendicant orders of the church, and its members strive to cultivate the ideals of poverty and charity. Congregations of these religious men and women are numerous all over the Roman Cat...
The Franciscans actually consist of three orders. The First Order comprises priests and lay brothers who have sworn to lead a life of prayer, preaching, and penance. This First Order is divided into three independent branches: the Friars Minor (O.F.M.), the Friars Minor Conventual (O.F.M. Conv.), and the Friars Minor Capuchin (O.F.M. Cap.). The Sec...
It was probably in 1207 that St. Francis felt the call to a life of preaching, penance, and total poverty. He was soon joined by his first followers, to whom he gave a short and simple rule of life. In 1209 he and 11 of his followers journeyed to Rome, where Francis received approval of his rule from Pope Innocent III. Under this rule, Franciscan friars could own no possessions of any kind, either individually or communally (i.e., as the property of the order as a whole). The friars wandered and preached among the people, helping the poor and the sick. They supported themselves by working and by begging for food, but they were forbidden to accept money either as payment for work or as alms. The Franciscans worked at first in Umbria and then in the rest of Italy and abroad. The impact of these street preachers and especially of their founder was immense, so that within 10 years they numbered 5,000.
Affiliated with them were the Franciscan nuns, whose order was founded at Assisi in 1212 by St. Clare, who was under the guidance of St. Francis. Clare and her followers were lodged by Francis in the church of San Damiano, where they lived a severe life of total poverty. They later became known as the Poor Clares or the Order of St. Clare, one of the three Franciscan orders.
During the first years of the Franciscans, the example of Francis provided their real rule of life, but, as the order grew, it became clear that a revised rule was necessary. After preparing a rule in 1221 that was found to be too strict, Francis with the help of several legal scholars unwillingly composed the more restrained final rule in 1223. This rule was approved by Pope Honorius III.
Even before the death of Francis in 1226, conflicts developed within the order over the observance of the vow of complete poverty. The rapid expansion of the order’s membership had created a need for settled monastic houses, but it was impossible to justify these if Francis’s rule of complete poverty was followed strictly. Three parties gradually appeared: the Zealots, who insisted on a literal observance of the primitive rule of poverty affecting communal as well as personal poverty; the Laxists, who favoured many mitigations; and the Moderates, or the Community, who wanted a legal structure that would permit some form of communal possessions.
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The Franciscans have popularized several devotional practices in the Roman Catholic Church. Among the best known are the Christmas crèche, the Stations of the Cross, and the Angelus. Besides their traditional role of preaching, Franciscans have been active in the work of foreign missions, including the establishment of numerous missions in the 1700...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Click to enlarge. Franciscan Order, a term commonly used to designate the members of the various foundations of religious, whether men or women, professing to observe the Rule of St. Francis of Assisi in some one of its several forms. The aim of the present article is to indicate briefly the origin and relationship of these different foundations.
The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi.
Franciscan, Member of a Christian religious order dedicated to the apostolic life of poverty and preaching founded in 1209 by St. Francis of Assisi. The Franciscans actually consist of three orders. The First Order comprises priests and lay brothers who have sworn to a life of prayer, preaching, and penance.
CHASTITY. OBEDIENCE. The Conventual Franciscans are one of the three branches of the First Order of St. Francis. Our Order is spread throughout the world.
