Secular Franciscans are Catholic men and women who seek to deepen their faith and pattern their lives on Jesus Christ, in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. We live and work in society. We are married, single, old, young, and from all walks of life. We seek to proclaim, by our example, the love, joy and mercy of Christ to the world. We are an order within the Catholic church, and are members of local Fraternities. Led by the Holy Spirit, we strive for perfect charity in our secular state. By our profession, we pledge to live the gospel in the manner of St. Francis in accordance with the rules approved by the Church.
Almost eight hundred years ago, a man named Francis was called by God to “rebuild My church”. The times were difficult; war and greed were rampant. Francis chose Jesus Christ to be the guide and inspiration of his life. People began to follow him and embrace his values of poverty, joy, simplicity, gratitude and love of all God’s creatures. Francis gathered many men around him and had the Rule of his First Order of Friars (“little brothers”) approved by Pope Honorius III. St. Clare of Assisi wished to follow Francis’ way of life, and founded the Franciscan Second Order, the Poor Clare nuns. St. Francis also gave a Way of Life to lay people who wished to follow him, thus inspiring his Third Order – first called The Order of Brothers and Sisters of Penance, and now called the Order of Franciscans Secular. This order was approved by the Pope in 1221.
At present there are over one million members of our worldwide Franciscan family, which includes lay members, religious sisters, cloistered nuns, ordained priests and non-ordained brothers. In our common response to the Gospel, we work together in fraternity towards a deep evangelical life and communion with all people. Secular Franciscans meet monthly to pray and develop our Franciscan vocation together. We read Scripture, study the life and writings of St. Francis, encourage and learn from one another, and discuss our apostolic works.