Franciscans

This article is about the Fransican movement in general. For the original and largest Catholic Franciscan order, see Order of Friars Minor.

Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Order of Friars Minor.

Franciscans are people and groups (religious orders) who adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of St Francis of Assisi. The movement originates within the Catholic Church, where it also remains most numerous. However, Franciscan Orders and Franciscan spirituality are also found within other Christian denominations, including Old Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism.

The coat of arms that is a universal symbol of Franciscans "contains the Tau cross, with two crossed arms: Christ's right hand with the nail wound and Francis' left hand with the stigmata wound".

Franciscans in other Christian traditions

Main articles: Franciscan orders in Protestantism, Franciscan orders in the Anglican Communion, and Franciscan orders in Lutheranism

One of the results of the Oxford Movement in the Anglican Church during the 19th century was the re-establishment of religious orders, including some of Franciscan inspiration. The principal Anglican communities in the Franciscan tradition are the Community of St. Francis (women, founded 1905), the Poor Clares of Reparation (P.C.R.), the Society of Saint Francis (men, founded 1934), and the Community of St. Clare (women, enclosed). There is also a Third Order known as the Third Order Society of St Francis (T.S.S.F.).

A U.S.-founded order within the Anglican world communion is the Seattle-founded Order of Saint Francis (OSF) an open, inclusive, and contemporary expression of an Anglican First Order of Friars. There is also an order of Clares in Seattle (Diocese of Olympia) The Little Sisters of St. Clare, where the OSF is officially headquartered.

There are also some small Franciscan communities within European Protestantism and the Old Catholic Church. There are some Franciscan orders in Lutheran Churches, including the Order of Lutheran Franciscans, the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, and the Evangelische Kanaan Franziskus-Bruderschaft (Kanaan Franciscan Brothers). In addition, there are associations of Franciscan inspiration not connected with a mainstream Christian tradition and describing themselves as ecumenical or dispersed.

Modern times

Main article: Franciscan Order in modern times

Franciscans International

Main article: Franciscans International

Franciscans International is a Non-governmental organization (NGO) with General Consultative status at the United Nations, uniting the voices of Franciscan brothers and sisters from around the world. It operates under the sponsorship of the Conference of the Franciscan Family (CFF) and serve all Franciscans and the global community by bringing grassroots Franciscans to the United Nations forums in New York and Geneva. It brings the spiritual and ethical values of the Franciscans to the United Nations and international organisations.

See also

• Order of Friars Minor

References

Books

• Aguiar de Castro, José Acácio (1997). O simbolismo da natureza em Santo António de Lisboa. Biblioteca humanística e teológica (in Portuguese) 11. Porto: Universidade Católica Portugesa, Fundação Eng António de Almeida. ISBN 9728386036. Retrieved 31 May 2016. 
• Arnald of Sarrant (2010). Chronicle of the Twenty-Four Generals of the Order of Friars Minor. Translated by Noel Muscat. Malta: TAU Franciscan Communications. Retrieved 31 May 2016. 
• Burr, David (2010). Spiritual Franciscans: From Protest to Persecution in the Century After Saint Francis. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-04138-2. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Camps, Arnulf; McCloskey, Patrick (1995). The Friars Minor in China (1294–1955): Especially the Years 1925–55, Based on the Research of Friars Bernward Willeke and Domenico Gandolfi, OFM. History series 10. Franciscan Institute Publications. ISBN 978-1-57659-002-7. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Carmody, Maurice (1994). The Leonine Union of the Order of Friars Minor: 1897. History series 8. Franciscan Institute Publications. ISBN 978-1-57659-084-3. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Carmody, Maurice (2008). The Franciscan Story. Athena Press. ISBN 978-1-84748-141-2. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Cotter, Francis J. (1994). Roberta A. McKelvie, ed. The Friars Minor in Ireland from their arrival to 1400. History series 7. Franciscan Institute Publications. ISBN 978-1-57659-083-6. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Couturier, David B. (2007). The Fraternal Economy: A Pastoral Psychology of Franciscan Economics. Cloverdale Books. ISBN 978-1-929569-23-6. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Daniel, E. Randolph (1992). The Franciscan Concept of Mission in the High Middle Ages. Franciscan Pathways Series. Franciscan Institute Publications. ISBN 978-1-57659-065-2. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Esser, Kajetan (1970). Origins of the Franciscan Order. Franciscan Herald Press. ISBN 978-0-8199-0408-9. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Flood, David; Matura, Thaddée (1975). The Birth of a Movement: A Study of the First Rule of St. Francis. Franciscan Herald Press. ISBN 978-0-8199-0567-3. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Francis of Assisi (1982). Francis and Clare: The Complete Works. Classics of Western spirituality. Translated by Regis J. Armstrong and Ignatius C. Brady. New York: Paulist Press. ISBN 0809124467. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Francis of Assisi. Armstrong, Regis J.; Hellmann, J. A. Wayne; Short, William J., eds. Francis of Assisi: Early Documents. —4 volumes
  • The Saint. Francis of Assisi: Early Documents 1 (2nd ed.). New City Press. 1999. ISBN 978-0-904287-62-2. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
  • The Founder. Francis of Assisi: Early Documents 2 (Illustrated ed.). New City Press. 2000. ISBN 978-1-56548-113-8. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
  • The Prophet. Francis of Assisi: Early Documents 3 (Annotated ed.). New City Press. 2001. ISBN 978-1-56548-114-5. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
  • Index. Francis of Assisi: Early Documents 4 (Annotated ed.). New City Press. 2002. ISBN 978-1-56548-172-5. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Gilliat-Smith, Ernest (1914). Saint Clare of Assisi: her life and legislation. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd. ISBN 0665656319. Retrieved 31 May 2016. 
• Lawrence, C.H. (2015). Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Medieval World Series (4th ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-50467-2. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Lynch, Cyprian J. (1988). A Poor Man's Legacy: An Anthology of Franciscan Poverty. Franciscan Pathways Series. Franciscan Institute. ISBN 978-1-57659-069-0. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• MacVicar, Thaddeus (1963). The Franciscan Spirituals and the Capuchin Reform. History series 5. Franciscan Institute Publications. ISBN 978-1-57659-086-7. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Merlo, Grado Giovanni (2009). In the Name of St. Francis: A History of the Friars Minor and Franciscanism until the Early Sixteenth Century. Translated by Robert J. Karris and Raphael Bonanno. Franciscan Institute Publications. ISBN 978-1-57659-155-0. 
• Moorman, John Richard Humpidge (1983). Medieval Franciscan houses. History series 4. Franciscan Institute Publications. ISBN 978-1-57659-079-9. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Moorman, John Richard Humpidge (1988). A History of the Franciscan Order: From Its Origins to the Year 1517. Franciscan Herald Press. ISBN 978-0-8199-0921-3. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Osborne, Kenan B. (1994). The History of Franciscan Theology. Franciscan Institute Publications. ISBN 978-1-57659-032-4. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Senocak, Neslihan (2012). The Poor and the Perfect: the rise of learning in the Franciscan order, 1209–1310. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-6471-4. Retrieved 30 May 2016. —Shows how Franciscans shifted away from an early emphasis on poverty and humility and instead emphasized educational roles
• Sharp, Dorothea Elizabeth (1966). Franciscan Philosophy at Oxford in the Thirteenth Century. British Society of Franciscan Studies 16. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-576-99216-X. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 
• Thomson, Williell R. (1975). Friars in the Cathedral: The First Franciscan Bishops 1226-1261. Studies and texts 33. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. ISBN 9780888440334. ISSN 0082-5328. Retrieved 31 May 2016. 
• White, Joseph M. (2004). Peace and good in America: a history of Holy Name Province Order of Friars Minor, 1850's to the present (Illustrated ed.). Holy Name Province O.F.M. ISBN 978-1-57659-196-3. Retrieved 30 May 2016. 

Articles

• Halevi, Masha (2012). "Between Faith and Science: Franciscan Archaeology in the Service of the Holy Places". Middle Eastern Studies (Routledge) 48 (2): 249–267. doi:10.1080/00263206.2012.653139. Retrieved 31 May 2016. (registration required (help)). 
• Schmucki, Oktavian (2000). "Die Regel des Johannes von Matha und die Regel des Franziskus von Assisi. Ähnlichkeiten und Eigenheiten. Neue Beziehungen zum Islam". In Cipollone, Giulio. La Liberazione dei 'Captivi' tra Cristianità e Islam: Oltre la Crociata e il Gihad: Tolleranza e Servizio Umanitario. Collectanea Archivi Vaticani 46. Vatican City: Archivio Segreto Vaticano. pp. 219–244. 

External links

Official websites

Lutheran Franciscans

• Order of Lutheran Franciscans
• (German) Evangelische Franziskaner-Tertiaren in Germany.
• (Swedish) Franciskus Tredje Orden in Sweden.
• The Kanaan Franciscan Brothers
• (Swedish) Helige Franciskus Systraskap
• (Swedish) Franciskus-Sällskapet i Finland
• (United States) The Franciscan Order of the Divine Mercy

Anglican Franciscans

• Anglican Franciscans
• Order of Servant Franciscans, Third Order (OSF).
• Order of Saint Francis (OSF)
• The Little Sisters of St. Clare
• Franciscan Servants of the Holy Cross – Original Province (FSHC)
• The Company of Jesus (CJ)
• The Franciscan Order of the Divine Compassion
• The Community of the Franciscan Way

Non-denominational Franciscans

• Companions of Jesus, a non-denominational order.
• Order of Ecumenical Franciscans, a non-denominational group.
• Order of Lesser Sisters and Brothers, a dispersed ecumenical Franciscan community.
• Saint Francis Ecumenical Society, a non-denominational Russian-speaking Franciscan community.

Research resources

• Online guide to the Academy of American Franciscan History Microfilm Collection, 1526–1972, The Bancroft Library
• Franciscan authors, 13th – 18th century
• Digital Franciscans – Extensive list of Franciscan internet resources