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Home News Justice & Peace Join Us Vocations Initial Contact Form History Colonial History The Modern Period Academy of American Franciscan History St. Junipero Serra Video Links Contact Friars Only Select Page Welcome to the website of the almost 1,000 Franciscan friars — members of the Order of Friars Minor — living and ministering as brothers across the United States. Come-and-See Online Vocational Retreat December 2020 by Jim McIntosh | Oct 19, 2020 | News Mark your calendars and save the date: The US-6 OFM Franciscan Vocation Office is offering another Come-and-See Online Vocational Retreat scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 5 at 12 PM EST (11 AM CST, 10 AM MST, 9 AM PST). More information is available on Facebook.... Fratelli Tutti: Message of the Minister General by feed | Oct 3, 2020 | General Curia Dear Brothers, May the Lord give you peace! With great joy, I come to each of you to wish you a Happy Feast of Saint Francis 2020 from the bottom of my heart. Even though we are experiencing a world health emergency, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ... « Older Entries Recent News Fraternitas 10.2020 (No. 281) To Live and Follow | Letter of the Franciscan Ministers General on the 800th Anniversary of the Earlier Rule Forced like Jesus Christ to flee | 106th World Day of Migrants and Refugees Economy of Francesco: online event confirmed from 19 to 21 November Come-and-See Online Vocational Retreat September 2020 Complete English Translations of Early Franciscan Sources now Online Franciscan Online Course: Laudato Si’ and Integral Ecology Feast of St. Clare 2020: Letter of the Minister General The Coronavirus crisis – a turning point | A Franciscan Perspective on COVID19 Press Release: General Chapter As Members of a ‘Cosmic Fraternity’, All Creatures share the same Dignity and Vocation given by God | Homily of the Minister General for the Feast of the Pardon of Assisi Koinonia: Saint Francis and changes of his time: reconciling the Gospel with history Fraternitas 08-09.2020 (No. 280) Evangelization in the Parish and COVID-19 Stories of Change: Energy Transition in Franciscan Fraternities Koinonia 2020 – 2 (N.106): The Secular Franciscan and the Immigrant Respect the Divine Good in Creation: Campaign of the Laudato Si’ Revolution We are called to a radical choice to live our Franciscan charism authentically JPIC Newsletter: CONTACT (04-06.2020) Novices Make First Vows Fraternitas 07.2020 (No. 279) Laudato Si’ Petition for Pope Francis Franciscan Scholars of Quaracchi launch stunning new website Ladato Si’ Homily Helps On the #BLM Protests Saint Anthony: from Coimbra to the whole world Statement on Racism from the U.S. Secular Franciscan Order’s JPIC Commission Join the Ladato Si’ Revolution Pope Francis on the Eighth Centenary of the Franciscan Protomartyrs and the Franciscan Vocation of St. Anthony Systemic Racism Must End: Statement from the US-6 OFM Provinces Franciscans International Celebrates 30 Years at UN National Moment of Remembrance for COVID-19 Victims to Take Place This Weekend Franciscan Missionaries mark 100th Anniversary of the birth of John Paul II with his favourite song THE FRANCISCAN EXPERIENCE & RESPONSE: COVID19 & BEYOND – Video conference of the Order about COVID-19 Franciscans International: Statement on the human rights impact of the COVID-19 pandemic Message for the Month of Ramadan 2020 Protect Migrants and Refugees during the COVID-19 Pandemic A Message of Hope from the Mayor of Assisi A Buried Treasure Revealed: The Book of the Conformity of the Life of Saint Francis to the Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ Do not be afraid; darkness has not conquered the light! | Easter Letter of the Minister General 2020 See all news items. Who We Are We Franciscans owe our inspiration to Francesco di Bernardone , an affluent young merchant from the Italian town of Assisi, who in 1206 renounced his wealth and social status in favor of a life dedicated to God and the least of God’s people. St. Francis of Assisi began his life of penance as a hermit, devoting himself to prayer, working among lepers and rebuilding churches in the Assisi area. Soon others were attracted to his company. By 1209, there were 12 brothers, and so they gained approval from Pope Innocent III for their way of life “according to the Holy Gospel.” The Order of Lesser Brothers ( ordo fratrum minorum ) — known in English as the Order of Friars Minor — had begun. The Gospel life of the Friars Minor has four central components: first, to be men of prayer; second, to live as lesser ones, “not making anything our own;” third, to create a brotherhood of mutual care among ourselves; and fourth, to “go about the world” entering people’s everyday lives as heralds of God’s reign and agents of Gospel peace. Franciscans have a long history in the US. Today, in the 21st century, we are members of six US provinces moving to restructure our governance into one US province. A map of the Franciscan churches, shrines, missions, chapels, retreat houses, ministry sites, and educational institutions in the US can be found on this page . “And I worked with my hands, and want to do so still. And I definitely want all the other brothers to work at some honest job.” FAQs Frequently Asked Questions Here are the answers to some common questions about the Franciscans. DummyClosed Why are male Franciscans called friars? The word friar comes from the Latin word frater , meaning brother . Frater is the root of other English words such as fraternal, fraternity, fratricide, and fraternize.When St. Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscan order, he used the word friar because he intended its members to live as brothers without distinction of rank, title, or education. Friars are first and foremost brothers to each other. Friars live in communities called fraternities, and the building which they live is known as a friary. The male religious of the mendicant orders (e.g., Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, Carmelites) are all called friars. Are Franciscan friars monks? No. Monks live a cloistered life in a monastery and vow to live in that monastery for all of their lives. Franciscan friars, on the other hand, may live in many different friaries during their lives. A mythical story from the early days of the Franciscan order says that Lady Poverty came to visit St. Francis. Francis, being poor, can only offer her bread and water; later, when she wants to rest, the friars can give her only a stone and not a cushion on which to lay her head. And, when she asks them to show her their cloister, they took her to a hill and showed her the whole world and said, “This, Lady, is our cloister.” A monk’s life is one of stability . Friars are itinerants , that is, they move from place to place. How can you tell which friars are priests and which are brothers? You can’t. All Franciscan friars are first and foremost brothers to each other. All Franciscan friars live the same rule of life and wear the same religious habit. Some Franciscan friars are ordained to the priesthood. These friars usually devote themselves to sacramental ministry. Other friars are not ordained, and these friars work in any number of fields which may include counseling, spiritual direction, teaching, medicine, social work, cultural or social animation, and so on. There is no limit to the kinds of work open to Franciscans, as long as the work does not go against Gospel values. Despite some friars being ordained and others not, in the spirit of St. Francis, all friars – lay and ordained – see themselves as brothers, as equals, with no one greater or less than the next, respectful to one another and to all of creation. If you are not sure if a Franciscan friar is a priest or a brother, you can never go wrong addressing him as “brother.” Within their fraternities, friars generally address one another by their first name or by that word. On this website, we use the words friar or brother as the title for all friars. What is a...