Franciscans (frănsĭs`kənz), members of several Roman Catholic religious orders following the rule of St. Francis Francis, Saint, or Saint Francis of Assisi (əsē`zē)
..... Click the link for more information. (approved by Honorius III, 1223). There are now three organizations of Franciscan friars: the Friars Minor [Lat. abbr., O.F.M.] (the second largest order in the Roman Catholic Church; only the Jesuit order is larger), formerly called the Observants; the Friars Minor Capuchin (see Capuchins Capuchins (kăp`y
chĭnz) [Ital.
..... Click the link for more information. ), the fourth largest of the great religious orders; and the Friars Minor Conventual [Lat. abbr., O.M.C.]. Within 50 years of St. Francis's foundation, the order had a very strong wing of zealots—the Spirituals, who advocated absolute poverty, thus deploring the convents or any settled life. They allied themselves with the anarchical monks who were preaching the teachings of Joachim of Fiore Joachim of Fiore (jō`əkĭm), c.1132–1202, Italian Cistercian monk.
..... Click the link for more information. . St. Bonaventure 1)). His later mystical works bring the teachings of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Hugh of Saint Victor to full flower. He emphasized the total dependence of all things upon God, and he wrote guides to mystic contemplation. He also wrote the official and much-translated life of St.
..... Click the link for more information. tried to reconcile the factions of the order, but the Spirituals grew stronger and saw one of their heroes made pope as St. Celestine V Celestine V, Saint, 1215–96, pope (elected July 5, resigned Dec. 13, 1294), an Italian (b. Isernia) named Pietro del Murrone; successor of Nicholas IV. Celestine's election ended a two-year deadlock among the cardinals over a successor to Nicholas IV.
..... Click the link for more information. . His abdication made their agitation one of the major social and religious problems of Italy. So far as the order was concerned, John XXII John XXII, 1244–1334, pope (1316–34), a Frenchman (b. Cahors) named Jacques Duèse; successor of Clement V. Formerly, he was often called John XXI. He reigned at Avignon. John was celebrated as a canon lawyer under Boniface VIII, whom he supported.
..... Click the link for more information. settled (1322) the matter by putting the Franciscans on a level with every other order with respect to owning property corporately. He also put a stop (1323) to a Franciscan boast that their way was more nearly perfect than any other. However, within the order there still remained a desire for reform, and in the following years a movement developed toward restoring primitive practice. The friars of this tendency (Observants) gained recognition within the order and eventually were made independent (1517) by Leo X. Soon afterward a movement among the Observants established the Capuchins (1525) as a still stricter adherence to the rule. All the Franciscan orders have shared in home and foreign missions; the Franciscans were in many parts of America the dominant missionaries. They have had a continuous role in education and were leaders in medieval university life. They have had a major place in preaching among Catholics: from them come the Stations of the Cross and the Christmas Crib. Since the 15th cent. the Observants have been charged with the care of Roman Catholic interests in the Holy Places in Palestine. Besides the friars, the Franciscans include the Poor Clares, the order of nuns founded by St. Clare Clare or Clara, Saint, 1193?–1253, Italian nun of Assisi, devoted from her youth to St. Francis , to whom she took a vow of poverty. She led a life of great austerity.
..... Click the link for more information. , and countless members of the third order (see tertiary tertiary (tûr`shēârē), in the Roman Catholic Church, member of a third order.
..... Click the link for more information. ), an order consisting of both men and women, some of whom live in communities and many of whom live in the world. There are scores of religious communities of sisters of every sort of charitable mission who are regular Franciscan tertiaries. Of canonized and beatified saints, far more have been Franciscans than members of any other order. The best-known of them is perhaps St. Anthony of Padua. The Franciscans were called Gray Friars. Their habit is now typically brown. For the place of Franciscans among orders, see monasticism monasticism (mənăs`tĭsĭzəm, mō–)
..... Click the link for more information. .
..... Click the link for more information. (approved by Honorius III, 1223). There are now three organizations of Franciscan friars: the Friars Minor [Lat. abbr., O.F.M.] (the second largest order in the Roman Catholic Church; only the Jesuit order is larger), formerly called the Observants; the Friars Minor Capuchin (see Capuchins Capuchins (kăp`y
chĭnz) [Ital...... Click the link for more information. ), the fourth largest of the great religious orders; and the Friars Minor Conventual [Lat. abbr., O.M.C.]. Within 50 years of St. Francis's foundation, the order had a very strong wing of zealots—the Spirituals, who advocated absolute poverty, thus deploring the convents or any settled life. They allied themselves with the anarchical monks who were preaching the teachings of Joachim of Fiore Joachim of Fiore (jō`əkĭm), c.1132–1202, Italian Cistercian monk.
..... Click the link for more information. . St. Bonaventure 1)). His later mystical works bring the teachings of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Hugh of Saint Victor to full flower. He emphasized the total dependence of all things upon God, and he wrote guides to mystic contemplation. He also wrote the official and much-translated life of St.
..... Click the link for more information. tried to reconcile the factions of the order, but the Spirituals grew stronger and saw one of their heroes made pope as St. Celestine V Celestine V, Saint, 1215–96, pope (elected July 5, resigned Dec. 13, 1294), an Italian (b. Isernia) named Pietro del Murrone; successor of Nicholas IV. Celestine's election ended a two-year deadlock among the cardinals over a successor to Nicholas IV.
..... Click the link for more information. . His abdication made their agitation one of the major social and religious problems of Italy. So far as the order was concerned, John XXII John XXII, 1244–1334, pope (1316–34), a Frenchman (b. Cahors) named Jacques Duèse; successor of Clement V. Formerly, he was often called John XXI. He reigned at Avignon. John was celebrated as a canon lawyer under Boniface VIII, whom he supported.
..... Click the link for more information. settled (1322) the matter by putting the Franciscans on a level with every other order with respect to owning property corporately. He also put a stop (1323) to a Franciscan boast that their way was more nearly perfect than any other. However, within the order there still remained a desire for reform, and in the following years a movement developed toward restoring primitive practice. The friars of this tendency (Observants) gained recognition within the order and eventually were made independent (1517) by Leo X. Soon afterward a movement among the Observants established the Capuchins (1525) as a still stricter adherence to the rule. All the Franciscan orders have shared in home and foreign missions; the Franciscans were in many parts of America the dominant missionaries. They have had a continuous role in education and were leaders in medieval university life. They have had a major place in preaching among Catholics: from them come the Stations of the Cross and the Christmas Crib. Since the 15th cent. the Observants have been charged with the care of Roman Catholic interests in the Holy Places in Palestine. Besides the friars, the Franciscans include the Poor Clares, the order of nuns founded by St. Clare Clare or Clara, Saint, 1193?–1253, Italian nun of Assisi, devoted from her youth to St. Francis , to whom she took a vow of poverty. She led a life of great austerity.
..... Click the link for more information. , and countless members of the third order (see tertiary tertiary (tûr`shēârē), in the Roman Catholic Church, member of a third order.
..... Click the link for more information. ), an order consisting of both men and women, some of whom live in communities and many of whom live in the world. There are scores of religious communities of sisters of every sort of charitable mission who are regular Franciscan tertiaries. Of canonized and beatified saints, far more have been Franciscans than members of any other order. The best-known of them is perhaps St. Anthony of Padua. The Franciscans were called Gray Friars. Their habit is now typically brown. For the place of Franciscans among orders, see monasticism monasticism (mənăs`tĭsĭzəm, mō–)
..... Click the link for more information. .
Bibliography
See studies by J. Moorman (1968), K. Esser (tr. 1970), and T. MacVicar (1986).
Franciscans
13th-century religious order whose members lived in poverty. [Christian Hist.: EB, IV: 273]
See : Asceticism
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