Even though I have long known that there are Franciscan sisters, brothers, and priests, a friend recently told me about a group that is completely new to me: the Secular Franciscan Order. I had never heard about this group, and he was not very clear about who belongs to it, why it exists, or how it relates to the Catholic Church and other parts of the Franciscan family.
Numerically, the OFS (initials for its name in Latin) is the largest part of the Franciscan family and was actually the first one formally established by St. Francis!
According to the best scholarship, between 1209 and 1215, he wrote his Exhortation to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance (the original name for this group). That exhortation, which predates the official Rule of the Friars Minor and the Poor Clares, now forms the Prologue of the 1978 Rule of the OFS.
Because many laypeople in 13th-century Italy (and quickly in nearby countries) were attracted by the preaching and good example of St. Francis, St. Clare, and their earliest followers, they wanted to “live according to the Holy Gospel” within their existing life choices. Most early Secular Franciscans were married and thus could not join the friars or the Poor Clares. Others were single and wanted to remain so. Some diocesan priests also wanted to incorporate Franciscan spirituality into their lives. All OFS members sought to live a Gospel way of life without taking the vows of poverty, obedience, and celibate chastity. This new form of religious life was eventually called “the Third Order of St. Francis.”
The Church took another 200 years before it formally recognized congregations of Franciscan women and men dedicated full-time to caring for the sick, sponsoring schools, establishing orphanages, or engaging in other works of mercy. These groups form the Third Order Regular part of the Franciscan family; its members take vows, live in community, and dedicate themselves to apostolic works.
What Do Secular Franciscans Do?
“The rule and life of the Secular Franciscans is this: to observe the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the examples of St. Francis of Assisi who made Christ the inspiration and the center of his life with God and people” (Rule, 4).
Some fraternities have a corporate ministry, but most of them assist other religious or civic groups to address urgent human needs easily overlooked or often considered incapable of being addressed effectively.
When many people thought that only monks and cloistered nuns could be holy, Secular Franciscans (and similar groups within other Catholic religious families) anticipated by seven centuries what Vatican Council II recognized in 1964 as “the universal call to holiness” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, chapter 5). The Sacrament of Baptism calls everyone who has received it to become holy, encouraging them to become, like everyone who is baptized, what Pope Francis described in 2018 as “the saints next door” (in his apostolic exhortation Rejoice and Be Glad, 6–9).
How Are Secular Franciscans Organized?
Like other orders, its members have a Rule of Life, which received papal approval in 1221, 1289, and 1883. Its 1978 Rule, formed after an extensive worldwide consultation, can be accessed at SecularFranciscansUSA.org.
Before 1978, the Secular Franciscan Order was juridically dependent on one of four all-male Franciscan groups within the Franciscan family (Third Order Regular, Capuchins, Conventuals, or Friars Minor). Now the OFS elects its own leaders and councils, holds regional, national, and worldwide chapters, and votes on its legislation and priorities.
Local OFS fraternities are grouped regionally and nationally, forming an international fraternity. Some fraternities have Franciscan sisters, brothers, or priests as spiritual assistants. Others are led by veteran OFS members. Local fraternities meet monthly for prayer, ongoing formation in the Franciscan charism, and mutual support in living more deeply the good news of Jesus Christ.
Secular Franciscans are often assisted in this by Franciscan magazines, books, videos, audio series, and Internet resources. Secular Franciscans (then called members of the Third Order of St. Francis) were in 1893 the first audience of St. Anthony Messenger magazine and similar publications.
How Do People Join?
Each Secular Franciscan fraternity is responsible for the formation of its new members, assisted with resources from the international, national, and regional levels. After a person has been a candidate for at least a year, he or she makes a permanent profession to live by the OFS Rule.
Finding the Closest Fraternity
Visit SecularFranciscansUSA.org to find a listing and map of OFS fraternities in the United States. Other parts of the world may have similar Internet listings.
A Key Passage from the OFS Rule
“United by their vocation as ‘brothers and sisters of penance’ and motivated by the dynamic power of the Gospel, let them conform their thoughts and deeds to those of Christ by means of that radical interior change which the Gospel calls ‘conversion.’ Human frailty makes it necessary that the conversion be carried out daily” (7).
Brother Loren Connell, OFM, a former OFS national assistant, advised on the text.
