Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis (OFS) / Secular Franciscan Order (SFO)
People living ordinary lives in the time of St. Francis were inspired to follow the Gospel and were drawn by the beauty and simplicity of the Franciscan charism. They were called to live out the Franciscan vocation as married or single people or as diocesan clergy, all sharing in their desire to live the gospel in the world. These Catholics inspired St. Francis to create the Third Order. Today, the Third Order of St. Francis is still around and known as the Secular Franciscan Order. Just like when it was started by St. Francis, the SFO comprises men and women inspired to follow Jesus in the footsteps of St. Francis.
Secular Franciscans Today
Today, Secular Franciscans number several hundred thousand worldwide, with more than 30,000 in the United States. We have been called by the Spirit of God to live the gospel as St. Francis did, going from the gospel to life and back again. We are not called to leave the world but to transform it–by allowing God to transform us. We remain in our families, jobs, and life situations while maintaining and deepening our friendships. We are ordinary people constantly seeking practical ways to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and helping others to do the same. There is no fanfare, no notoriety in our quest. We move quietly forward in the company of others whom we regard in a special way as brothers and sisters. Basically, this means gathering as community to pray and build fraternal relationships on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. In this setting, we strive to become one in heart and mind with Jesus and in Jesus.
We are brothers and sisters…
…in fraternity. This becomes the privileged place for developing our sense of Church, our Franciscan vocation, and our ministry. We seek to encounter Jesus in our brothers and sisters, in Sacred Scripture, in the Church, in Liturgical Prayer, and especially in the Eucharist. Following the example and teaching of the Church, St. Francis, and Padre Pio, the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. We seek to respond to the Gospel through the witness of embracing and promoting love (caritas/dilectio/agape), truth, sanctity, and beatitude. We are in the world and value work as gift and sharing in creation, redemption, and service to the human family. We respect the family as “the original cell of social life… the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life” and as a sign of peace, fidelity, and respect for the fullness of human life, from conception to natural transitus. We have a special concern for the works of peace and reconciliation. We seek to live simply, placing more value on people and sharing what we have than on possessions. With holy humility and holy poverty as central to our charism, we strive to joyfully identify ourselves with the poor and the marginalized, seeing in them the face of Christ. We respect ALL creatures and creation, animate and inanimate, in gratitude for the love God has shown us in His gifts.
You are invited! Click here to get in touch and visit us!
Who aren’t we?
First Order of St. Francis
Many people have been attracted to the Franciscan Spirituality through the life and example of St. Francis of Assisi. Many have responded radically by giving away ALL that they have in order to follow the Gospel in prayer, poverty, celibacy, and obedience. This is the First Order of St. Francis or the Friars Minor.
Second Order of St. Francis
A beautiful young girl, Clare of Assisi, came to realize the truth of the Gospel way of life through the inspiration and witness of St. Francis. Her life was a life of enclosure (cloister), celibacy, material poverty, penance, and prayer in response to the call of the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t long before many women followed her example and joined her. This became the Second Order of St. Francis or the Order of Poor Clares.
