Who We Are

Secular Franciscans are people who seek to follow Jesus in the footsteps of St. Francis, who made Christ the inspiration and the centre of his life. Living the Gospel 24-7 is our goal. From the Gospel to LIFE and from life to the GOSPEL. Is this possible? By the grace of God – St. Francis did it. AND he wrote a ‘rule’ to help us follow Jesus this closely! You are not here by chance. Perhaps you have been called here? YOU are WELCOME here! Please visit all our pages and links and contact us.

THE ORDER The worldwide Secular Franciscan Order is approved by the Church. It has a Rule of life and is not simply a pious society or association. As a lay order, we are not called to leave the world, but to transform it. Our Order has fraternities at the Local, Regional, National and International levels with duly elected councils. The Franciscan Spirit of poverty, simplicity, service and joy runs through the whole Franciscan family; (that is, the First Order, priests and brothers; Second Order, the Poor Clares, cloistered nuns; Third Order Regular, brothers and sisters; and the Seculars; who used to be called the Third Order). This spirit is called the Franciscan Charism. (Charism; meaning a gift given by the Holy Spirit to help with the task of building up the Church). GOSPEL LIVING Our vocation is to make Sacred Scripture the basis for our life, especially the Gospel, following Jesus Christ closely in the spirit of St. Francis. This vocation of Secular Franciscans, calls them to make profession in the Secular Franciscan Order, which is “on a par with” and “of equal importance to” profession made by friars or any religious. FRATERNITY We are sisters and brothers in Christ. The fraternity to which we belong is the privileged place where we develop our sense of Church, Franciscan spirituality and ministry. Meetings are held monthly for prayer, study, sharing and to fraternize. We seek to encounter the living person of Christ in each other, in Scripture and Liturgical prayer and in the Sacraments. CONVERSION The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ spoke to Francis, and Francis truly heard. He turned from a life of comfort and self indulgence to a life of ongoing conversion and service. Inspired by this radical change in Francis; Clare of Assisi left wealth and family to find the truth of the Gospel way of life. We too strive daily to abandon ourselves to God’s plan for our lives.

SIMPLICITY Secular Franciscans seek to live simply, valuing the goodness of creation, and sharing their love for God with others. St. Francis was known to revere all creation as originating from our loving God. As God’s stewards of creation, our work is to foster a love for the sacredness of all life, to relinquish the desire to accumulate goods and the power of possessions, and to find joy in the abundance of God rather than the empty promises of the world. SOCIAL JUSTICE Secular Franciscan brothers and sisters seek to respond to the Gospel challenge through the witness of their lives, identifying with the poor and the needy, and promoting social justice in response to the call to the mission of the Church. PEACE AND PENANCE Adopting Saints Francis and Clare as models, Secular Franciscans work ardently for peace and reconciliation in their families, churches, communities, schools, work places… in all corners of the world. We value the integrity of family life as a sign in the world of peace, fidelity and respect for life. We esteem work as a gift through which we share in creation, redemption and service to the human family. We are actively involved in the sacramental life of the church and reaching out to community life in service, love and the building of God’s kingdom.