Editing Franciscans (section)

==Contemporary organizations==
{{stack|[[File:Beato Amadeo da Silva.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Amadeus of Portugal]] (1420–1482), reformer of the  Order of Friars Minor]]
[[File:Bernardino Ochino.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bernardino Ochino]] (1487–1564), co-founder of the Capuchin Order]]
[[File:Simone Martini 047.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Clare of Assisi]] (1194–1253), founder of the [[Poor Clares]], in a painting by [[Simone Martini]] (1284–1344) in the [[Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi]]]]
[[File:S lucchese.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Luchesius Modestini]], honored as the first Franciscan tertiary]]
[[File:Franziska schervier.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mary Frances Schervier]] (1819–1876) was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis who became the foundress of the [[Poor Sisters of St. Francis]], founded to serve the needy.]]
[[Image:OswaldStaniforth.jpg|thumb|[[Oswald Staniforth]], a 19th-century friar]]}}
===First Order===
====Order of Friars Minor====
The '''[[Order of Friars Minor]]''' ('''OFM''') has 1,500 houses in about 100 provinces and {{lang|la|custodiae}}, with about 16,000 members. In 1897, [[Pope Leo XIII]] combined the Observants, [[Discalced]] (Alcantarines), Recollects, and Riformati into one order under general constitutions. While the Capuchins and Conventuals wanted the reunited Observants to be referred to as The Order of Friars Minor of the Leonine Union, they were instead called simply the [[Order of Friars Minor]]. Despite the tensions caused by this forced union, the Order grew from 1897 to reach a peak of 26,000 members in the 1960s before declining after the 1970s. The Order is headed by a Minister General, who since July 2021 is Father Massimo Fusarelli.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ofm.org/en/br-massimo-fusarelli-new-ofm-minister-general.html | title=Br. Massimo Fusarelli, new OFM Minister General |website=ofm.org}}</ref>

====Order of Friars Minor Conventual====
The '''[[Order of Friars Minor Conventual]]''' ('''OFM Conv.''') consists of 290 houses worldwide, with a total of almost 5,000 friars. They have experienced growth in this century throughout the world. They are located in Italy, the United States, Canada, Australia, and throughout Latin America, and Africa. They are the largest in number in Poland because of the work and inspiration of [[Maximilian Kolbe]].

====Order of Friars Minor Capuchin====
The '''[[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin]]''' ('''OFM Cap.''') are the youngest branch of Franciscans, founded in 1525 by Matteo Serafini ([[Matteo Bassi]], Matteo da Bascio), an Observant friar, who felt himself called to an even stricter observance of Franciscan austerity. With the support of the Papal Court, the new branch received early recognition and grew fast, first in Italy and after 1574 all over Europe and throughout the world. The Capuchins eventually became a separate order in 1619. 

The name Capuchins refers to the particular shape of the long hood or {{lang|it|capuce}}. Originally a popular nickname, it has become a part of the official name of the order. The order now exists in 106 countries all over the world, with around 10,500 brothers living in more than 1,700 communities, known as fraternities, or friaries.

===Second Order===
====Poor Clares====
The '''[[Poor Clares]]''', officially the '''Order of Saint Clare''', are members of a [[enclosed religious orders|contemplative order]] of [[nun]]s in the [[Catholic Church]]. The Poor Clares were the second [[Franciscan]] order to be established. Founded by [[Clare of Assisi]] and [[Francis of Assisi]] on [[Palm Sunday]] in 1212, they were organized after the [[Order of Friars Minor]] (the first order), and before the Third Order of Saint Francis. In 2011, there were over 20,000 Poor Clare nuns in over 75 countries throughout the world. They follow several different observances and are organized into federations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.poorclare.org/|title=Poor Clare Sisters|access-date=9 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223105818/http://poorclare.org/|archive-date=23 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Poor Clares follow the ''[[Rule of St. Clare]]'' which was approved by Pope [[Innocent IV]] the day before Clare's death in 1253. The main branch of the Order ('''OSC''') follows the observance of Pope Urban. Other branches established since that time, who operate under their own unique [[constitutions]], are the [[Colettine Poor Clares]] ('''PCC''' – founded 1410), the [[Capuchin Poor Clares]] ('''OSC Cap.''' – founded 1538), and the [[Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration]] ('''PCPA''' – founded 1854).

===Third Order===
{{Main|Third Order of Saint Francis}}
The '''Third Order of Saint Francis''' comprises people who desired to grow in holiness in their daily lives without entering [[monastery|monastic]] life. After founding the Friars Minor and seeing a need, Francis created a way of life to which married men and women, as well as the single and the [[secular clergy]], could belong and live according to the Gospel. 

====Secular Franciscan Order====
The '''[[Secular Franciscan Order]]''', prior to 1978 also known as the Third Order Secular of Saint Francis, is an order founded by Francis in 1212 for brothers and sisters who do not live in a religious community. Members of the order continue to live secular lives, and gather regularly for fraternal activities. In the United States alone there are 17,000 professed members of the order. 

Members of the Order live according to a Rule composed by St Francis in 1221. The Rule was slightly modified through the centuries and was replaced at the turn of the 20th century by [[Pope Leo XIII]], himself a member of the Order. A new and current Rule was approved by [[Pope Paul VI]] in 1978, and the Third Order was renamed the Secular Franciscan Order. It is an international organization with its own [[Minister General]] based in Rome.

====Third Order Regular====
Within a century of the death of Francis, members of the Third Order began to live in common, in an attempt to follow a more [[ascetic]]al way of life. [[Angela of Foligno]] (+1309) was foremost among those who achieved great depths in their lives of prayer and service of the poor, while living in community with other women of the Order.

Among the men, the [[Third Order of St. Francis#Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance |Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.francescanitor.org/ |title=Third Order Regular |publisher= Francescanitor.org |date=2013-05-12 |access-date=2013-06-16 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130609222919/http://francescanitor.org/ |archive-date=2013-06-09 |url-status=dead}}</ref> was formed in 1447 by a papal decree that united several communities of [[hermit]]s, following the Third Order [[Catholic religious order |Rule]], into a single Order, with its own Minister General. Today it is an international community of friars who desire to emphasize the works of mercy and on-going conversion. The community is also known as the Franciscan Friars, '''TOR''', and they strive to "rebuild the Church" in areas of high school and college education, parish ministry, church renewal, social justice, campus ministry, hospital chaplaincies, foreign missions, and other ministries in places where the church is needed.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Franciscan Friars, TOR |title=The Franciscan Orders |work=FranciscansTOR.org |url= http://www.franciscanstor.org/orders.htm |access-date=2007-07-10 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080723165740/http://www.franciscanstor.org/orders.htm |archive-date= 2008-07-23 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 

The association of Franciscans (Grey Friars) with education became a stock fictional reference in, for example, the works of [[William Makepeace Thackeray |Thackeray]] ("Grey Friars School" in ''[[Pendennis]]'' and ''[[The Newcomes]]'') or of[[Charles Hamilton (writer) | "Frank Richards"]] ([[Greyfriars School]] of [[Billy Bunter]] fame).

After the formal recognition of the members of religious tertiary communities, the following centuries saw a steady growth of such communities across Europe. Initially, the women's communities took a monastic form of life, either voluntarily or under pressure from [[ecclesiastical]] superiors. The great figure of this development was [[Hyacintha Mariscotti]]. As Europe entered the upheavals of the modern age, new communities arose which were able to focus more exclusively on social service, especially during the immediate post-[[Napoleon]]ic period which devastated much of Western Europe. An example of this is [[Mary Frances Schervier]] (1819–1876).

=====Third Order Regular in North America=====
This movement continued in North America as congregations arose from one coast to another, in answer to the needs of the large emigrant communities that were flooding the cities of the United States and Canada.

The Third Order Regular of the [[Brothers of the Poor of St. Francis of Assisi]], '''CFP''', are an active community, based in the United States, with houses in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and Brazil. These Franciscans strive to live an integrated life through prayer, community, and ministry to the poor, neglected and disadvantaged youth, the powerless, people in need, and the elderly. The Brothers of the Poor live by their vows of poverty (living a simple lifestyle), consecrated chastity (loving all, possessing no one, striving sincerely, for [[singleness of heart]], a celibate way of loving and being loved), and obedience (to God, to the community, to the church, and to self). 

The Brothers of the Poor serve persons with AIDS and people who ask for help, regardless of their religion or their social/economic background. They are teachers, childcare workers, social workers, counselors, pastoral ministers, retreat ministers, religious educators, and school administrators, along with other tasks.

The Regular Tertiaries, officially the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance, who operate the [[Franciscan University of Steubenville]], follow a rule approved by [[Pope Leo X]]. Today this group is present in 17 countries: Italy, Croatia, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, US, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Brazil, Paraguay, Mexico, Peru, Sweden, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.francescanitor.org/storia-2/?lang=en|title=Tertius Ordo Regularis Sancti Francisci {{!}} History|language=en-EN|access-date=2018-12-18 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181219055757/http://www.francescanitor.org/storia-2/?lang=en|archive-date=2018-12-19|url-status=dead}}
</ref>

==== Brothers and Sisters of Penance of St. Francis ====
The [[Brothers and Sisters of Penance of St. Francis]], is a private confraternity of the Catholic Church, whose members strive to model their lives according to the Rule and Statutes of the Primitive Rule of the Third Order of St. Francis, which was written for lay people in 1221 by Francis of Assisi. Right now there are several hundred members within the United States and a few hundred more throughout the world. The order was started in 1996 by members of the Archdiocese of St. Paul in Minnesota.

====Other tertiaries====
* In 1435, [[Francis of Paola]] founded the "Poor Hermits of Saint Francis of Assisi", later known as the "Hermits of the Order of [[Minim (religious order)|Minims]]", and then renamed the "Order of Minims" in 1506 by Pope [[Julius II]]. There are mendicant friars, contemplative nuns, and lay tertiaries.
* The Society of the Atonement, also known as [[Society of the Atonement|Graymoor Friars]] and [[Society of the Atonement|Graymoor Sisters]], started in 1898 as a religious community in the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]]. It came into union with the [[Holy See]] in 1909.
* The [[Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate]] started in 1970, and became an institute with Pontifical Right in 1998. In that same year, the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate became an institute with Pontifical Right. There are also Third Order Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, an offshoot of the Franciscan Tertiaries of the Immaculate.

===Other Franciscan organizations===
* The Community of the [[Franciscan Friars of the Renewal]] started in 1987, and the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal in 1988.
* The [[Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word]] started in 1987, and are now a Public Clerical Association of the Faithful.
* [[Franciscans International]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.franciscansinternational.org/index.php|title=Franciscans International|date=2013-04-10|publisher=Franciscans International|access-date=2013-06-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723144642/http://www.franciscansinternational.org/index.php|archive-date=2013-07-23|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 serves all Franciscans and the global community by bringing grassroots Franciscans to the United Nations forums in New York City and Geneva. It brings the spiritual and ethical values of the Franciscans to the United Nations and international organisations.

===Other Christian traditions===
{{Main|Franciscan spirituality in Protestantism}}
There are [[Franciscan orders in Lutheranism|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). Established in 2006, the Order of St. Francis-Lutheran (OSF-L) operates under the auspices of the [[Lutheran Church-International]]. The OSF-L is based in [[St. Catharines]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goodnough |first1=Larry James |title=Prodigal Son: One Man's Spiritual Journey |date=17 June 2011 |isbn=978-1-4628-9169-6 |page=121 |language=en}}</ref> 

In the United States, the Evangelical Society of the Cross Franciscan (the Lutheran Third Order of St. Francis) was founded in 1988 in [[Orlando, Florida]]. It was blessed by Bishop Lavern Franzen of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sculley |first1=Brother Michael D. F. |title=The Lutheran Third Order of St. Francis |url=https://mcsletstalk.org/spirituality/lutheran-third-order-st-francis/ |publisher=Let's Talk |access-date=17 February 2025 |date=26 May 2016}}</ref>

One of the results of the [[Oxford Movement]] in the [[Anglican Communion]] during the 19th century was the re-establishment of religious orders in the [[Church of England]], including some of Franciscan inspiration. The principal Anglican communities in the Franciscan tradition are the [[Community of St. Francis]] (women, founded 1905) (CSF), the Poor Clares of Reparation (PCR), the [[Society of Saint Francis]] (men, founded 1934)(SSF), the [[Community of St. Clare]] (women, enclosed) (OSC), and the [[Order of St. Francis]] (men, founded in 2003). There is a [[Third Order]] known as the Third Order Society of St Francis (TSSF), and the [[Lesser Franciscans]]. There is an order of Sisters of St. Clare in the [[Puget Sound]] area of [[Washington (state)|Washington state]] ([[Diocese of Olympia]]), the Little Sisters of St. Clare.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stclarelittlesisters.org/|title=The Little Sisters of St. Clare|access-date=2010-07-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902173451/http://www.stclarelittlesisters.org/|archive-date=2010-09-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>

There are some small Franciscan communities within [[Continental Reformed Protestantism|Continental Reformed Churches]] and the [[Old Catholic Church]].<ref>For example, [https://osfoc.myiocc.org the OSFOC]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}.</ref> 

There are associations of Franciscan inspiration that describe themselves as [[ecumenism|ecumenical]]—accepting Christians of all denominations, the [[Order of Ecumenical Franciscans]] being an example. The Companions of Francis Apostolic Religious Institute (CFARI), with its roots in independent Catholicism, is a dispersed, egalitarian and ecumenical order of Franciscans based in Pasadena, California, with vowed members in California, Arizona and New Mexico. CFARI members live among the populations they serve and are self supporting in their ministry.