Who Are The Secular Franciscans?

From the earliest days of Francis of Assisi's ministry, lay people who longed to live a deeper life of Faith were drawn to his message of conversion and penance.

Francis formed these lay penitents into the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, later called the Third Order of St. Francis. From this Order the T.O.R. emerged in the 15th century. The lay Order continued as the Third Order of St. Francis, Secular. In 1978, its name was changed to the Secular Franciscan Order (S.F.O.)

Secular Franciscans, as their name implies, live ordinary lives in the world rather than in religious communities. They may be single or married, women or men, in all walks of life.

They live the Gospel as consecrated laity in a Franciscan manner according to their own Rule which they profess after a period of initial formation. Profession as a Secular Franciscan is a lifelong commitment. Formation and profession of the Secular Franciscan takes place within a local community called a fraternity. Life in fraternity is an essential aspect of the Secular Franciscan vocation. The fraternity is a community of love, the privileged place for the sisters and brothers to develop their sense of Church and the Franciscan call.

Although a self-governing Order, each Secular Franciscan fraternity receives guidance in spiritual matters from a spiritual assistant, usually a friar of one of the other Franciscan Orders. These relationships are particularly strong between Secular Franciscans and the T.O.R. friars with whom they share common roots in the Franciscan penitential tradition.