The Tau as our Franciscan Symbol
Where did the Tau come from and what does it mean? Simply and basically, the Tau (rhymes with “how”) represents the cross. It is also the last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. However, the two major influences on Francis concerning the TAU were the Antonians and the Fourth Lateran Council. St. Francis borrowed the Tau and what it meant to him from the Antonians. They were a religious community of men founded in 1095 whose sole function was to care for lepers. The Church disbanded them...
Read MoreLetter from Friar Louis – May/Jun 2012
Dear Brothers and Sisters in St. Francis and Clare, May the Risen Saviour give you peace! During this Easter Season we embrace the Lord of Life, who having been raised up by the Father, will, in His turn, raise us up by His power. Through our Baptism into Christ’s death we are buried with him, so that, just as the Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life (Romans 6:4). Jesus, the beginning and end of our faith, endured the cross, heedless of the...
Read More