Editing Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (section)

===Expansion===
Despite earlier setbacks, the authorities were eventually satisfied as to the soundness of the general body of Capuchin friars and the permission to preach was restored. The movement then began to multiply rapidly, and by the end of the 16th century the Capuchins had spread all over the Catholic parts of Europe, so that in 1619 they were freed from their dependence on the Conventual Franciscans and became an independent Order. They are said to have had at that time 1500 houses divided into fifty provinces. They were one of the chief tools in the Catholic Counter-reformation, the aim of the order being to work among the poor, impressing the minds of the common people by the poverty and austerity of their life, and sometimes with sensationalist preaching such as their use of the supposedly possessed [[Martha Broissier|Marthe Brossier]] to arouse Paris against the [[Huguenots]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2TJeVkAMz5sC&dq=capuchin+bartholomew's+massacre&pg=PA48 ''The crime of crimes: demonology and politics in France, 1560–1620''], Jonathan L. Pearl, Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press, 1999 {{ISBN|0-88920-296-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-88920-296-2}}</ref>

The activities of the Capuchins were not confined to Europe. From an early date they undertook missions to non-Catholics in America, Asia and Africa, and a college was founded in Rome for the purpose of preparing their members for foreign missions. Due to this strong missionary thrust, a large number of Capuchins have suffered [[martyrdom]] over the centuries. Activity in Europe and elsewhere continued until the close of the 18th century, when the number of Capuchin friars was estimated at 31,000.