BRIEF HISTORY

OF THE

SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER

AND ITS RULES

OVERVIEW

The Franciscan Order has over 800 years of history. St. Francis entered the penitential movement in the first decade of the 13th century. It was at St. John Lateran in Rome in 1209 that Pope Innocent III authorized Francis and his followers to live the life of a penitent and preach the Gospel. From this event sprang the three Franciscan Orders established by St. Francis that, over time, brought about a rebuilding of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ which at the time was falling into ruin. The rebuilding continues today. For us, Secular Franciscans, it is clearly a Journey of Living faith: from the Darkness of Sin to the Light of Ongoing Conversion and Growth in Divine Wisdom; from Love of the world to Love of the Gospel; from Interior War and Emptiness to Peace and Fullness of Joy in Christ Within and without; and from the Noise of the World to the Silence of Listening to the Divine Presence in our hearts.  

This report presents a brief history of the Secular Franciscan Order in the various periods of its development including its Rules.

I. PRE-FRANCIS ERA Penitential Movement

During the first five or six centuries of church history, members were required to avoid serious sin. The penalty for serious sin was excommunication from the community. However, one was allowed to rejoin the community on a “second chance” very restrictive basis. This reconciliation required severe penance such as lifelong fasting, abstinence from attending church functions and from reception of the Eucharist, external displays of self-degradation like wearing sack-cloths, and the like. In time, these strict rules became canon law, with the bishop authorizing and overseeing reconciliation.

Changes in restorative penance in Europe and Asia were influenced by Celtic monks who practiced “private” penance: the priest would assign a penance at his discretion, the severity in accordance with the gravity of the sin.

About the same time there were those who volunteered to become penitents, with the same obligations of the canonical penitents, in order to become holy – to live like Jesus and the Apostles. These volunteers were the precursor of the penitential movement, as embraced by St. Francis of Assisi.

Two kinds of Penitents – the Public Penitents and the Voluntary Penitents

The public penitents made expiation for their sins in the manner prescribed for days, months, and years as established by the Penitentials

The voluntary penitents remained in the Ordo Poenitentium through the Middle Ages.

The same concept of conversion, as the internal and external act by which the Christians, not weighed down by serious sin, and therefore not obliged to do so, publicly decided to abandon the way of life which he had formerly led and to devote himself to God in one of the various forms of penitential life, reveals that the ultimate goal of such a choice was to make God one’s point of reference and the very reason for life; this end was obviously very spiritual. This interior decision, however, was also externally visible by means of the “penitential habit.”

The dominant element that seemed to be always present in the various religious movements of the twelfth century was the continuation and diffusion of the desire to return to the gospel life of the apostles, considered as the norm and model of poverty and of evangelization for the whole Church which set the tone for the “new penitential climate” of the century.

The Itinerant PreachersAt the same time, especially in the first

fifth of the twelfth century, the concept of apostolic life acquired a new element in addition to that of poverty, namely, preaching, especially in an itinerant lifestyle.

The first itinerant preachers, canons regular, were the most significant examples of this. They left the canonical life first to become hermits and later to begin their itinerant preaching in strictest poverty, precisely because at that point they felt that these two elements – a life of poverty and preaching – were the essential components of a truly apostolic life.

Other Penitential Groups

There were those groups of penitents who preceded Francis, whose penitential lives were approved by the Holy See. Among the more famous were the Waldensians, started by Peter Waldo, a rich merchant from Lyons. The Pope approved their life of poverty but ruled that, in matter of preaching, Peter Waldo and his companions should have to submit to the decision of the local bishop. The Waldensians continued to preach, however, some say, without the permission of the bishop or preached in dioceses that were not appreciative of their preaching and in some locales, they were associated with those of suspect orthodoxy. In 1184 they were condemned by the Council of Verona.

The Cathari who adopted a Manichean dualism (the body was evil and the spirit was good but were marked as heretical.

The Humiliati arose among wool workers and merchants a decade before the birth of Francis. They “humiliated themselves for God” adopting rough clothing and untinted cloth, and developed three distinct but not separate groups. The clerical element formed the ‘first order,’ also included nuns solemnly consecrated to the religious life as it was then understood; an associate of monastic life- lay brothers and sisters, living in adjoining houses – formed the ‘second order; the religious-worker association of men and women remaining in the married state comprise a ‘third order’ and Innocent III approved them in 1201. Together with the Franciscans, they enjoyed the popular support of the people but in the 14th century their numbers began a slow decline and finally by 1569 the order was suppressed by St. Pius V.

Somehow the structure of the grouping left an impression on the penitential movement started by Francis.

II. Francis of Assisi – 1181-1226

Time of Political Uncertainty & Social UpheavalFrancis was born in Assisi, in the region of Umbria in

1182, of a rich merchant family – that of Pietro di Bernadone and his wife, Lady Pica.

Time of Political Uncertainty As Well As Time of Dramatic Cultural Change. The feudal system with lords and fiefdoms was the society that was diminishing and a mercantile society was emerging. Francis was not of noble birth, but his father, a cloth merchant, was rich. So Francis did associate with the sons of nobles and, partied with them.

Time of Chivalry – Francis heard stories of knights rescuing ladies fair. This Environment influenced Francis to don the armor of a knight and go off to battle, which made his father proud.

Time When City States Had Allegiance To The Emperor Or To The Holy See. The main reason, that Assisi was “imperial” was that its traditional rival, Perugia, was “papal.”

III. Francis’ Conversion Process - 1206

Francis’ “Servant or Master Dream” in Spoleto – 1205 Pilgrimage to Rome – Changing Clothes with a Beggar – Spring 1206 Embracing the Leper – Early 1206 San Damiano – Giving Money to Priest – 1206 Scene Before Mayor and Bishop Rejecting Money and Clothing – 1206 Francis is Called to Rebuild San Damiano – 1206 Francis’Approval by Innocent III – 1209 It was at this time at St. John Lateran in Rome, that Pope Innocent III

authorized Francis and his followers to live the life of a penitent and preach the Gospel.

Francis Preached the Kingdom of God

1. St. Francis’ appearance on the scene, with his strong resolution and simplicity, began the restoration of Italian society to a Christian way of living.

2. Francis laid a spiritual foundation of a Christianity based on the simple and radical lifestyle of the gospel of Our Lord Jesus. Society was getting tired, restless and disenchanted with unnecessary conventions in their daily affairs.

3. These positive changes were made possible specifically because of the lay aspect of the Third Order, whose peaceful influence was far reaching and penetrated many layers of society.

IV. Francis’ Exhortation to His Followers

Francis’ Exhortation to His Followers The very first teachings that Francis set in writing addressed to

the Brothers and Sisters of Penance was the first version of the Letter to All the Faithful (1209 – 1215) or the Volterra Letter so called because the document was located in the City of Volterra. It was introduced with these words: ‘These are the words of life and salvation. Whoever reads and follows them will find life and draw from the Lord Salvation.’

It presently serves as a Prologue to the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order. 

Letter to All the Faithful (Second Letter) Spring of 1220 It recalls Francis’ earlier exhortation to the Brothers and Sisters of

Penance and encourages its observance in light of many of the teachings of the Fourth Lateran Council.”

The earlier exhortation (Prologue to the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order along with the second version, the Later Admonition and Exhortation to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, was St. Francis’ invitation to the gospel way of life.

The history of the Third Order provides a few examples of

individuals who accepted the call, some of whom became saints. Some of the earliest known tertiaries are: Count Orlando of Chiusi, the donor of Mt. La Verna, Praxedi, the Roman recluse to whom Francis gave a habit and cord, and Lady Jacopa de Settesoli (Brother Jacopa).

After St. Francis’ visit with Cardinal Hugolino in 1221 and subsequent canonical establishment of the first Secular Franciscan Fraternity, the Third Order spread throughout the world.

Wherever Franciscan Friars and Poor Clares were to be found, so was the Third Order. It attracted many individuals, some of whom are well known in the Church and throughout the world. Individuals such as St. Louis of France, St. Ferdinand of Castile, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Margaret of Cortona, Angela of Foligno, St. Jean Marie Vianney (Cure d’ Ars) Petrarch, Raphael, Michaelangelo, Murillo and Christopher Columbus. Of all the Franciscan tertiaries, 53 are canonized saints with approximately 80 more who have been formally beatified.

V. The Four Franciscan Rules

Within the 800-year history of the Secular Franciscan Order, four Rules were established to help guide and govern how the laity were to live out the Franciscan Spirituality and Charism in the world:

The Rule of Cardinal Hugolino - 1221 - Memoriali Propositi

The Rule of Pope Nicholas IV – 1289 The Rule of Leo XIII - 1883The Rule of Pope Paul VI – 1978

VI. The Memoriali Propositi of 1221 It is universally accepted that 1221 is the official year in which the

Third Order began. This year reflects the canonical establishment of the Third Order by Cardinal Hugolino. The Memoriali Propositi was the Rule given by the Cardinal to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, detailing how they were to live holy lives.

Built on the concept of fraternity, that the Penitents are truly brothers and sisters, bound together by mutual charity. Like the 2 Franciscan Orders, the Third Order is the ‘School of the Gospel’ and demands adherence to it in thought and action.

 The Rule details the daily life of penitents regarding:

1. Modesty in dress, prohibition to take part in public entertainment2. Rules of abstinence, fasting and prayer 3. The Divine Office & sacramental practice.4. Prohibition to carry arms and to avoid oaths.5. The Eucharist and meeting of the fraternity once a month.6. Visiting the sick, burying the dead and offering prayers for them.7. Obligation to make the last will.8. Rules regarding the reception of new members in the fraternity.9. The Visitor and disciplinary rule .10. The Election of the officials of the fraternity.

VII. The Rule of Pope Nicholas IV

– Became the first Franciscan Pope on Feb. 15, 1288. The Rule of Pope Nicholas IV in 1289 was issued with the Bull Supra Montem.

This Rule did not add anything new to the existing Memoriali Propositi, but gave the document more legislative style.

The aim of the Rule was to establish a closer and juridical relationship with friars of the First Order. The aim was successful in that it proved to be beneficial in the early years, but it subsequently led to an overdependence upon the First Order. Issue arose between the Penitents and the Friars about the friars doing the visitations to the fraternities. As a result, Pope Nicholas IV issued another document (Unigenitus Dei Filius, reasserting that Friars would be the visitors.

The Rule has 20 chapters. The contents of the individual chapters are as follows:

1. The Order of Penitents, its catholicity and obedience to the Church.2. The reception of novices. Obligation of reconciliation with one’s neighbor. A public profession binding the penitent to the observance of the divine commandments. Married women need permission of their husbands to join the Order.3. The penitential clothing of the penitents.4. Prohibition to take part in public entertainment and feasts.5. Penitential practices of fasting and abstinence, with insistence upon the Franciscan penitential seasons, but also with the evangelical liberty to eat whatever is presented to them. Pregnant penitents freed from obligation of fasting.6. The Reception of the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist on Christmas Day, Easter and Pentecost.7. Prohibition to carry arms and to render military service.8. The reciting of the canonical hours of the Divine Office, according to the Franciscan style. Participation in the liturgy in cathedral and parish churches.9. Obligation to draw up one’s last will.10. The Ministers’ role to ensure that the Brothers and Sisters give witness to peace. 11. Recourse to ecclesiastical authority to be defended against molestation by civil authorities.

12. Prohibition to take oaths, without authorization of the Apostolic See.13. The daily Eucharist. The monthly meeting of the fraternity, including the celebration of the Eucharist, the preaching of the Word of God, charity to poor and sick members of the fraternity.14. Visiting the sick brothers and sisters once a week. A decent burial and prayers for the deceased member of the fraternity.15. The role of the Minister of the fraternity.16. The Visitator of the fraternity, a member of the Order of Friars Minor, with the power to correct the shortcomings of the fraternity and to expel who rebel against obedience.17. An exhortation to avoid the scandal of division in the fraternity.18. The Ordinary or Visitator can dispense individual members of the fraternity from the ecclesiastical norm of abstinence.19. The disciplinary measures to be taken in the case of disobedient members of the fraternity, including expulsion from the Order.20. Conclusion: The obligatory nature of the Rule of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance.

  Third Order Regular. Around the turn of the century the practice of profession of

religious vows developed among those penitents living in community. This was the decisive step in the complete ‘regularization of the order. Pope John XXII, with the Bull Altissimo in divinis of November 18,1323, approved and praised this action which represented an approval of the ‘regular religious life’ within the Third Order.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Third Order was in crisis. To address the concerns of the Secular Franciscans, Pope Innocent XI issued the Bull, Ecclesiae Catholicae in 1689. This document was a commentary and adaptation of the Rule to the current times. Although Pope Innocent XI defended the autonomy of the Third Order, the Visitator still retained broad powers . Gradually, the Third Order was losing sight of its own identity.

VIII. The Rule of Pope Leo XIII

In 1883 Pope Leo XIII issued a rule of the Third Order for the society of his time. It was promulgated in the apostolic constitution Misericors De Filius of May 30, 1883.

His purpose for a new less rigorous rule was to make it more accessible and more appealing, to more Catholics.1. The text consisted of three Chapters, followed by another three in the form of an appendix setting out the indulgences and privileges of Tertiaries.2. Reduced to the bare essentials, it retained much of the old Rule [Nicholas IV] and modified/completed whatever parts seemed outdated and excessively harsh.

He lost no opportunity during the next few years of involving the whole Catholic episcopate in its propagation either by encyclicals or by exhortation and encouragement.

The hierarchy responded obediently to the Pontiff’s wishes, ordinary Christians were fired with enthusiasm and within a short time there were several million Tertiaries all over the world.

The ferment generated by the action of Pope Leo XIII was also marked by the celebration of regional, national and international congresses, both during and after his pontificate.

IX. International Congress

– the most important took place in Rome from 22 to 26 October, 1900.

It was promoted by the Ministers General of the Friars Minor, the Conventuals, the Capuchins and the Third Order Regular.

Out of the Congress two factions became clear:1. the individualists’ who intended to preserve the Third Order’s character as an association for Christian perfection, and2. the socials’ who, without failing to assume the above fundamental point, wished to direct the activity of the Tertiaries towards social issues following the directive of the Pope.

  In 1912, Pope Pius X issued Tertium Franciscalium Ordinem. In it, Pope Pius X

asks the friars to take spiritual care of the Third Order with the aim of promoting spiritual reform. Unfortunately, this document made the Third Order excessively dependent upon the First Order. Secular Franciscan identity became an issue again!

 In the International Congress of 1921 held in Rome, the following topics were

treated:1. The sanctification of the Tertiaries2. The running of the fraternity3. The Franciscan reform of society4. Promotion and apostolate

The major output of the 1950 International Congress was the declaration:

Votum 10. The Ministers General’s response to the request by the national fraternities to better define Votum 10 resulted in the following statement, as part of larger response:

1. Of the importance of the Franciscan Third Order toward leading a perfect Christian life with all its demands, especially at these present times;

2. Of the religious and social activity of the Third Order,

3. Of our (Ministers General’s) grave duty and responsibility with regard to providing for it and promoting collaboration and coordination of all forces.

[Item 3 was welcomed by the Tertiaries: the Ministers General directed the friars to assist the Third Order. ]

The Ministers General also provided their brief definition of the Third Order:

“Though it is not a religious order in the strict sense of the word, the Tertiary nevertheless shares the basic advantages of the religious life. He enjoys in fact:

1) A profession, which consecrates him morally to God,

2) A rule, to serve as a discipline for him

3) A special spirit to sustain and inspire him.

X. Declaration of Pope Succeeding Pope Leo XIII: All of them recommended the Third Order to the Catholic world Pope Pius X who succeeded Pope Leo XIII declared on Sept. 8, 1912 in Tertium

Franciscalium, that the Third Order does not differ from the other two (First and Second Order of St. Francis) in nature, but only in so far as it pursues the same purpose peculiar to itself and that “Personal sanctification, a movement inward, was seen as their duty.”

Pope Benedict XV clearly stated in Sacra Propendiem, January 6, 1921: ‘He (St. Francis) founded the Order of Tertiaries, an Order in the true sense of the word, not indeed bound like the other two by religious vows, but distinguished by the same simple life and practice of penance.’

Pope Pius XI on April 30, 1926 stated in his encyclical Rite Expiates, ‘The general restoration of peace and morals was advanced very much by the Third Order, which was a religious order indeed, yet something unexampled up to that time, in so far as it was not bound by vows, while it offered all men and women living in the world, a means of both observing the commandments of God and of pursuing Christian perfection.”

Pope Pius XII in his discourse to the Tertiaries of Italy on July 1, 1956, said: “You are an Order: a lay Order, but truly ‘an Order in the true sense of the word,’ as our predecessor Benedict XV of holy memory called it.”

All the sovereign pontiffs since Leo XIII have again and again recommended the Third Order to the Catholic world. All of them, as well as the predecessor of Leo XIII, Pope Pius IX, and Pope John XXIII have also set an example by joining the ranks of the Franciscan Tertiaries themselves.

The Third Order remained basically a devotional society over the years.

XI. The Pauline Rule of 1978 – our present Rule

Many during the 1950 Congress voiced their concern for an updating of Pope Leo XIII’s Rule.

In 1957, the Third Order was given new General Constitutions with the aim of renewing the contents of the Rule and giving the Order a spiritual, social and apostolic orientation.

In November 1965, the revisions of the current Rule began with the request of the four Franciscan Commissaries General, now known as the General Assistants to the SFO.

The request for revision was also to the Constitutions and the Ritual. In March 1966 shortly after the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, the

Ministers General gave their blessings to begin work on the formulation of a new Rule for the Third Order.

The request for changes were approved and so began the process to update the SFO documents to our current version.

Various commissions had worked on the revisions and by June 24, 1978 Pope Paul approved the new Rule and issued with it the Apostolic Letter,

Seraphicus Patriarca. The Rule presents “the spirituality of the Secular Franciscans, at least as it had been

defined within the Rule Project:

1. To Live the Gospel

2. Following Francis

3. Through Conversion/Metanoia

4. In Community

5. As Seculars

6. In Life Giving Union with All Franciscans

The transition from a “less devotional” Order to a “more apostolic” Order was helped by the National Fraternity Council of the USA with the creation of 4 Apostolic Commissions. Currently this has been updated to JPIC (Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation) to conform and implement the Seven themes of the Catholic social teachings from USCCB.

The new Rule abrogated all other rules and gave the Third Order a new name, changed the previous name of, Third Order of St. Francis, to the Secular Franciscan Order.

The insertion by the Ministers General of Francis’ Earlier Exhortation as a Prologue to the Rule keeps the freshness of the Franciscan Spirit and Charism in every Secular Franciscan heart.

The Rule is preceded by two letters, the first from the four Franciscan General Ministers and the second, a letter of Pope Paul VI’s approval issued by then Secretary of State John Cardinal Villot. The four branches of the First Order, all participated and assisted in the new Rule and the respective four ministers general of the Franciscan Family, Fr. Constantine Koser, OFM, Fr. Vitale M. Bonmmarco, OFM Conv, Fr. Paschal Rywalski, OFM Cap and R. Roland Faley, TOR, issued a letter to the Secular Franciscan Order of the approval of the new rule. In it, they collectively acknowledged the work of the SFO’s participation of the new rule, encouraged all Secular Franciscans with it and offered their continued support to walk together in the way of the Lord.

The Ritual was approved on March 9, 1984. 

Definitive approval of the General Constitution was on December 8, 2000.

  The International Statute was approved on November 22, 2002. 

The updates to the official documents of the Secular Franciscan Order was also accompanied by an expectation and encouragement from the Church, specifically Pope John Paul II, whose address of November 22, 2002 to the Secular Franciscan Order at the 10th General Chapter, stated:

 “The Church expects from the unique Franciscan Secular Order a

great service to the cause of the Kingdom of God in the world today. She wants your Order to be a model of organic, structural and charismatic union at all levels, so as to present yourself to the world as a ‘community of love’ (SFO, Rule, art. 26). From you, Secular Franciscans, the Church awaits a courageous and consistent witness of Christian and Franciscan life that aims at building a more fraternal and evangelical world for the realization of the Kingdom of God.

  “THE UPDATED RULE ‘ADAPTS THE SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER TO THE

NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE HOLY CHURCH IN THE CONDITIONS OF CHANGING TIMES.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY1. FUN MANUAL - A Brief History of the Secular Franciscan Order and Its

Rules by William Wicks, SFO  2. www.bspenance.org/The_Rule of_1221 – Brothers and Sisters of Penance of St. Francis – Franciscan Connection  3. www.bspenance.org/Franciscan_connection- Our Connection to the Franciscan Orders  4. www.ofs/ofsstpeters.com/history - Order Franciscan Secular; St. Peter’s Fraternity 5. The Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order 1978 6. The Franciscan Journey by Lester Bach, OFM Cap. 7. St. Francis of Assisi – Omnibus of Sources   

PAX ET BONUM  

 Ana T. Graciano, OFS