Secular Franciscans The Secular Franciscan Order ( in Latin), formerly the Third Order Secular, allows both laypeople and diocesan priests to join. A number of popes have also been members of this order. Members of the order are not required to live in
religious community, but meet in community regularly. Under the new rule, the tertiaries of the Franciscan movement were set up as an autonomous order, with their own
Minister General as head and became a fully recognized order within the Catholic Church. The order's name was changed from the Third Order Secular to the Secular Franciscan Order.
Third Order Regular The origin of the Third Order Regular can be traced back to the second half of the thirteenth century. It was organized, in different forms, in the
Netherlands, the
south of France, Germany, and Italy. Some secular tertiaries, who in many cases had their house of meeting, gradually withdrew entirely from the world and formed religious communities, but without the three substantial vows of religious orders. Other religious associations such as the
Beguines (women) and
Beghards (men) in the
Low Countries sometimes became third orders. Throughout the fourteenth century, the regular tertiaries of both sexes had in most cases no common organization; only in the following century did well-ordered religious communities with solemn vows and a common head develop, such as the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis of Penance.
Pope Martin V submitted in 1428 all tertiaries, regular and secular, to the direction of the Minister General of the OFM, but this disposition was soon revoked by his successor
Pope Eugene IV.
Pope Leo X, to introduce uniformity into the numerous congregations, gave a new form to the rule in 1521. It retained the rule as published by Nicholas IV all that could serve the purpose, but added new points, such as the three solemn vows and insisting on subjection to the First Order of St. Francis. For this last disposition the Rule of Leo X was met with resistance, and never was accepted by some congregations. orphanages for boys were established in
Teutopolis, Illinois;
Detroit, Michigan;
Cincinnati, Ohio (1868); and
Cold Spring, Kentucky (1869). The order's
motherhouse remains in Aachen and maintains houses in
Brazil, the Netherlands, and the US. The
Franciscan Brothers of the Holy Cross (FFSC) were founded by
James Wirth in 1862 in
Hausen, Germany, to care for orphans, the poor, the sick, and the suffering. In 1891, three Brothers settled in
Bad Kreuznach, where they eventually took over a local hospital, now known as St. Marienwörth. The Brothers were invited to come to the
Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, US in 1928 to establish a monastery and a trade school. St. Joseph's motherhouse is in Hausen.
Poland Founded in Poland in 1888, the Franciscan Missionary Brothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus focuses on medical care. They established a long-term medical care facility near
St. Louis, Missouri, US in 1927 to extend their service. As of 2002, the brothers numbered 22.
Spain The Capuchin Tertiary Friars of Our Lady of Sorrows, more commonly known as the
Amigonian Friars, were founded in Spain in 1889 by
Capuchin friar (later bishop) Luis Amigó y Ferrer. They were established through Amigó's desire to help the young boys he saw caught up in the Spanish
penal system. They soon established
reform schools and trade schools to help these boys. In 1986 they took over the administration of two youth facilities in
San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Ireland In 1835 a Franciscan monastery was built in
Roundstone, County Galway, Ireland. In 1858, Bishop
John Loughlin issued an invitation to the Brothers of the monastery to operate schools for the boys of the
Diocese of Brooklyn.
Congregations of Sisters There were also congregations of
religious sisters of the Third Order. For instance, the Grey Sisters of the Third Order, serving in hospitals, spread in France and the Netherlands. In 1403,
Elizabeth of Reute and several other young women who were Franciscan tertiaries, under the guidance of
Konrad Kügelin, provost of the
Canonry of St. Peter in
Waldsee, acquired a house in
Reute on the outskirts of Waldsee. This community was a proto-monastery of the Order, as tertiaries of the
mendicant orders had not yet been allowed to profess vows.
Angeline of Marsciano is generally credited with the founding of the Third Order Regular for women around 1403, as her religious congregation was the first Franciscan community of women living under the rule of the Third Order Regular authorized by
Pope Nicholas V. Whilst Pope Leo X, in the reform of the TOR rule, had left it free to the congregations to adopt
papal enclosures or not,
Pius V (1568) prescribed it to all convents of tertiary sisters with solemn vows. Still, this order was not carried out everywhere. In this regard the custom prevailed that the Friars Minor refused to take the direction of those convents which had only episcopal enclosure. Besides the aforementioned, there were different offshoots of the
Sisters of Saint Elizabeth in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and France (there, under the name of , some of them still exist). The first
Ursulines, also, founded by St. Angela Merici (1540), belonged to the Third Order. The history of the Third Order of St. Francis had a range of organizational models. Some monasteries were established to pursue the purely contemplative life, usually in an urban setting; others communities of women did not embrace the
enclosure, but considered active works of charity, tending to the poor and sick, as part of their Franciscan
charism. In the nineteenth century many of the new congregations adopted the Rule of the Third Order, but most of them have no connection with the First Order. As to their activities, almost all dedicate themselves to works of charity, either in hospitals, homes, or ateliers; others work in schools, not a few are in foreign missions.
Colombia • The
Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Sinners was founded in 1888 in Ecuador by
Maria Bernarda Bütler. In 1895, due to anti-religious sentiment, the congregation relocated to
Cartagena, Colombia. They are also active in Brazil and Lichtenstein. • The
Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate was founded in Colombia in 1893 by Swiss missionary
Maria Josefa Karolina Brader. Introduced to the US in 1932, the Sisters combine social service with
Perpetual Adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament. They serve in Texas, California and New Mexico. The provincial motherhouse is in
Amarillo, Texas.
France • The
Franciscans Servants of Mary was founded by Marie Virginie Vaslin in 1852. Approved by Louis-Théophile Pallu du Parc,
Bishop of Blois, in France, March 25, 1856. It integrated into the Franciscan family and adopted the Rule of the Third Order Regular on September 17, 1864. The congregation was elevated to the rank of pontifical right on December 17, 1901. The sisters are active in France, England, Italy, India,
Madagascar, and
Chad. • The Franciscan Sisters of
Calais were founded in 1854. In 1911, Bishop
Cornelius Van de Ven requested sisters to come and open a hospital in
Alexandria, Louisiana, US. Mother Marie de Bethanie Crowley with five companions arrived in central
Louisiana and established their first foundation, a sanitarium in
Pineville. They went on to found several medical facilities: St. Francis Hospital in
Monroe, Our Lady of Lourdes in
Lafayette, Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in
Baton Rouge and St. Elizabeth Hospital in
Gonzales. In 1964 they changed their name to the
Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady to reflect their expansion into other areas of the world. The North American provincial motherhouse is in Baton Rouge.
Germany • The
Franciscan Sisters of Dillingen was founded in Bavaria. The sisters are active in Germany, Brazil, Spain, India, and the US in a variety of ministries. • In 1845,
Frances Schervier founded the
Poor Sisters of St. Francis at Aachen. In 1868, sisters from Germany came to the US, establishing medical centers in New York City,
New Jersey and
Ohio to serve the needs of the large German emigrant communities. In 1959, the American provinces of the congregation were separated from the German motherhouse to become an independent congregation under the name
Franciscan Sisters of the Poor (SFP), headquartered in
Brooklyn, New York. • The
Hospital Sisters of St. Francis was founded in
Telgte, Germany by Father Christoph Bernsmeyer in 1847. The general motherhouse is in
Münster. They arrived in the US in 1875 and established
St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Illinois. • The
Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth (
CSSE)was founded by
Maria Merkert in
Prussia in 1850. • In 1855
Paul Joseph Nardini founded the
Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Family in
Pirmasens, in the
Rhineland-Palatinate. • The
Franciscan Servants of the Holy Child Jesus were founded in 1855 in Oberzell, Germany, by
Antonia Werr to minister to the needs of women who were neglected by society; in particular, prisoners, prostitutes and the destitute poor. The Sisters came to the US in 1929 and established their first foundation on
Staten Island, New York. Their principal ministries are in social work, health care and teaching. The provincial motherhouse is in
Plainfield, New Jersey. • The
Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration was originally founded in
Olpe, Germany in 1863 by
Maria Theresia Bonzel as the
Poor Sisters of St. Francis Seraph of the Perpetual Adoration. Introduced into the US in 1875, the St. Joseph Province is based at Mount St. Francis in
Colorado Springs, Colorado. • The
Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George was founded in 1869 in
Thuine, Germany. Its St. Elizabeth Province in the US began in 1923 when five sisters were sent at the request of Father Dunne, of St. Louis,
Missouri, then a center of German immigration. The Sisters moved to Alton, where they established Saint Anthony's Infirmary, a residence for the elderly. As of 2010, there are over 100 Sisters in the US (the total congregation numbers more than 1,600). They operate facilities for elderly care for both the general public and also with special facilities for the clergy, as well as child care and education. The provincial motherhouse is in
Alton, Illinois.
India The
Franciscan Missionaries of Mary was founded in 1877 in
Ootacamund, India, by
Hélène de Chappotin de Neuville. As of 2016, there are almost 8,300 sisters in 75 countries, including Canada, England, Scotland, and the US. In the US, they sponsor the Cardinal Hayes Home in
Millbrook, New York, for developmentally challenged individuals.
Ireland The
Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa was founded in 1952 by
Mary Kevin of the Sacred Passion (born Theresa Kearney,
County Wicklow, Ireland). It was intended as an offshoot from the
Mill Hill Sisters, with the purpose of focusing on the African missions. The sisters work in
Uganda,
Kenya,
Zambia,
Zimbabwe,
South Sudan, the US, Ireland and Scotland. A convent was established in
Boston, Massachusetts, in 1952, with an American novitiate being opened in 1954. The Generalate is in
Dublin, Ireland.
Italy • The
Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis was founded by
Maria Hueber in 1700 in Blixen in the
Tyrol. Over 480 sisters work in education, nursing, elder care, and orphanages in Italy, Austria,
Bolivia, and
Cameroon. • The
Franciscan Sisters, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary were founded in Olpe, Germany, in 1860 by Mother Clara Pfaender to care for the sick poor. They came to the US in 1872 in response to a request for medical care for the German immigrant community of St. Louis, Missouri. Five Sisters were sent in 1875 to add to the fledgling mission, but all perished in a much-noted shipwreck commemorated by
Gerard Manley Hopkins in the poem "
The Wreck of the Deutschland". The sisters established hospitals, schools, orphanages and other fields of ministry. They sponsor
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. The international congregational office is in Rome. The American provincial motherhouse is in
Wheaton, Illinois. • The Congregation of the
Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart (FMSC) was founded in 1861 in
Gemona del Friuli, Udine, Italy, by Gregory Fioravanti, inspired by and with the collaboration of Lady Laura Laroux, Duchess of
Bauffremont. In 1865, at the request of the Franciscan Fathers, three Sisters came to the parish of St. Francis of Assisi in New York City to serve the immigrants, orphans, and poor. As of 2022, there was 560 professed sisters in twenty-one countries. The General House is in Rome. • The general motherhouse of the
Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother is in Rome. It was founded in 1883 by inspiration of the founder of the
Salvatorians, and became independent in 1885. They came to the US at the invitation of the
Bishop of Wichita, Kansas, in 1889, and within two years had opened four hospitals and an orphanage, as well as teaching in parish schools. Today the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother serve in Italy, Austria, Brazil, the
Dominican Republic, Germany, the US,
Grenada,
St. Lucia,
Tanzania, and
Trinidad and Tobago.
Netherlands The
Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity is an international congregation founded in 1835 in
Heythuysen, Netherlands, by
Catherine Damen (Mother Magdalen) to care for neglected children. Sisters from its German province arrived in New York City in 1874 at the request of the German Jesuits of St. Michael's parish in
Buffalo, New York, where there was a great need for German-speaking sisters to teach the young of the expanding German population on Buffalo's east side. In 1939, the North American province was divided into three separate provinces. Since 1992, the three US provinces have sponsored a mission in
Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico.
Philippines The
Franciscan Apostolic Sisters were founded in 1953 by Gerardo Filipetto to assist the missionary Franciscan friars in their work of spreading the
Gospel and caring for the poor and the sick. They established a community in the
Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1992, and later in Illinois and
Rhode Island. The motherhouse is in
Cagayan, Philippines.
Poland The
Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth (CSSE) was founded by Maria Merkert in
Prussian Silesia in 1850. The congregation was introduced in the US in 1874 in Livonia, Michigan; Buffalo, New York (1900); Chicago, Illinois (1910);
Lodi, New Jersey (1913);
Coraopolis, Pennsylvania (1920);
Enfield, Connecticut (1932); and
Rio Rancho, New Mexico (1953). These locations amalgamated to form the Province of Our Lady of Hope based in
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. This province has 700 professed sisters who serve from Canada's
Northwest Territories to
Haiti.
Portugal The Congregation of the
Franciscan Hospitaller Sisters of the Immaculate Conception was founded in
Lisbon, Portugal, in 1871 by
Libânia do Carmo Galvão Mexia de Moura Telles de Albuquerque (Sr. Maria Clara), and is represented in fifteen countries. They came to the US in 1960 in order to aid Portuguese immigrants. They serve in
California in the
dioceses of San Jose,
Fresno, and
Monterey. The majority of the California sisters are involved in healthcare. The motherhouse is in Lisbon.
Switzerland The
Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross were founded in Switzerland in 1856 by
Capuchin friar
Theodosius Florentini and
Maria Katherina Scherer. A congregation that specialized in healthcare, they came to the US in 1912. In 1923 they were invited to
Merrill, Wisconsin. The sisters work primarily in
Wisconsin and Louisiana. The general motherhouse is in
Ingenbohl, Switzerland.
Uganda The
Little Sisters of St. Francis was founded in 1923 by Mill Hill Sister
Mary Kevin Kearney. They work in Uganda, Kenya, and Zambia. The motherhouse is in
Nkokonjeru, where they manage
St. Francis Hospital Nkokonjeru.
United Kingdom • The
Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Little Hampton (
FMSL) is a diocesan congregation founded in 1911 by Mary Patrick Brennan. Besides missions in
Peru and India, the sisters operate two residential care homes in
West Sussex, UK, and a house of hospitality in
Knock, Ireland. • The
Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (more commonly known as the
Franciscan Sisters of Glasgow) were founded in
Glasgow, Scotland in 1847 by Sisters Adelaide Vaast and Veronica Cordier from the Franciscan Monastery of Our Lady of the Angels, in
Tourcoing, France. It was organized in response to a request from Peter Forbes for sisters to teach the poor children of the parishes. Besides their work in education, the sisters are involved in parish ministry, social work, and health care in Scotland, England, Ireland, the US, Italy,
Nigeria, and Kenya. In 1865,
Pamfilo of Magliano adapted their rule for the then-recently-established
Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, New York. • The
Sisters of the Holy Cross Menzingen is a Swiss foundation established in 1844 by Capuchin
Theodosius Florentini and Maria Heimgartner (Mother Bernarda). In 1902, the sisters came to England where they opened a school in
Wimbledon. They operate Holy Cross Preparatory School for girls in Kingston, but have also expanded their ministry beyond education. The provincial house is in
New Malden, London. •
The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and St. Francis was founded by Mary Elizabeth Lockhart in
Greenwich, London, in 1852. In 1857, the community moved to
Bayswater, and in 1896 to
Bocking, Essex, where they operated a day school, an orphanage, and later a nursing home. In 1965, the congregation amalgamated with the
Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, founded by Elizabeth Hayes (1823–1894) who was later known as Mother Mary Ignatius of Jesus. The motherhouse was transferred to Rome. • The
Franciscan Missionary Sisters of St. Joseph (
FMSJ) were founded in 1883 by
Alice Ingham and companions. With the motherhouse at
Mill Hill, London, they are more commonly known as the
Mill Hill Sisters. In the
Diocese of Salford, they serve in various ministries including Caritas and the Cornerstone Day Center. The sisters also serve in Kenya, Uganda, the Netherlands, Ireland,
Ecuador, and the US. The congregation was introduced into the US in 1952. • The
Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood (FMDM) were founded in 1884 in
Hampstead, London, by three members of the Third Order, and began caring for orphans in
Aldershot. The international congregation has about 300 members. The motherhouse is at Ladywell in
Surrey. ==Lutheranism==