This article is about the Observant branch of the Franciscans, unified in 1897. For the other branches within the movement, see Franciscans.
Order of Friars Minor
Ordo Fratrum Minorum(Latin)[1]
Coat of arms of the Order of Friars Minor
Abbreviation
Post-nominal letters OFM
Predecessor
Order of Observant Friars Minor
Merged into
On October 4, 1897, the Order of Discalced Friars Minor, Order of Observant Friars Minor, Order of Friars Minor Recollect and the Order of Reformed Friars Minor were merged into a single religious order named the Order of Friars Minor
Formation
February 24, 1209; 815 years ago (1209-02-24)
Founder
Saint Francis of Assisi
Founded at
Assisi, Italy
Type
Mendicant Order Institute of Consecrated Life - Men[1]
Legal status
Religious institute
Headquarters
General Curia Via di S. Maria Mediatrice, 2500165 Roma, Italia[1]
Membership (2020)
12,726 (8,771 priests)[1]
Minister General
Massimo Fusarelli
Motto
Latin: Pax et bonum English: Peace and the good
Ministry
Preaching, missionary, educational, parochial, charitable works
Parent organization
Catholic Church
Subsidiaries
Secular Franciscan Order (1221) Third Order of Saint Francis (1447)
Secessions
Order of Friars Minor Conventual (1209) Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (1520)
Website
ofm.org
Formerly called
Order of Observant Friars Minor
Francis of Assisi, founder of the Order of Friars Minor; oldest known portrait in existence of the saint, dating back to St. Francis' retreat to Subiaco (1223–1224)
The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order;[2] postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of the founder and of his main associates and followers, such as Clare of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, and Elizabeth of Hungary, among many others. The Order of Friars Minor is the largest of the contemporary First Orders within the Franciscan movement.
Francis began preaching around 1207 and traveled to Rome to seek approval of his order from Pope Innocent III in 1209. The original Rule of Saint Francis approved by the pope disallowed ownership of property, requiring members of the order to beg for food while preaching. The austerity was meant to emulate the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Franciscans traveled and preached in the streets, while boarding in church properties. The extreme poverty required of members was relaxed in the final revision of the Rule in 1223. The degree of observance required of members remained a major source of conflict within the order, resulting in numerous secessions.[3][4]
The Order of Friars Minor, previously known as the Observant branch (postnominal abbreviation OFM Obs.), is one of the three Franciscan First Orders within the Catholic Church, the others being the Capuchins (postnominal abbreviation OFM Cap.) and Conventuals (postnominal abbreviation OFM Conv). The Order of Friars Minor, in its current form, is the result of an amalgamation of several smaller Franciscan orders (e.g. Alcantarines, Recollects, Reformanti, etc.), completed in 1897 by Pope Leo XIII.[5] The Capuchin and Conventual remain distinct religious institutes within the Catholic Church, observing the Rule of Saint Francis with different emphases. Franciscans are sometimes referred to as minorites or greyfriars because of their habit. In Poland and Lithuania they are known as Bernardines, after Bernardino of Siena, although the term elsewhere refers rather to Cistercians.
The OrderofFriarsMinor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic...
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The OrderofFriarsMinor Conventual (O.F.M.Conv.) is a male religious fraternity in the Catholic Church and a branch of the Franciscan Order. Conventual...
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic church. There are also friars outside of the Roman Catholic church, such as within...
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this ideal emerged two orders of mendicant friars – one, the FriarsMinor, was led by Francis of Assisi; the other, the Friars Preachers, by Dominic de Guzmán...
Augustinians. The orderoffriars and affiliated orders are growing in the Indonesian territories. Two Dutch Augustinian friars re-established the order in Papua...
1212, they were organized after the Order ofFriarsMinor (the First Order), and before the Third Order. As of 2011, there were over 20,000 Poor Clare nuns...
March 30, 1963) is an Italian Franciscan friar who was served as the minister general of the OrderofFriarsMinor since 2021. Fusarelli was born on March...
several branches offriars (priests and brothers), contemplative nuns, a congregation of religious sisters, and lay groups. The order's objectives are the...
the mendicant orders all together under the direction of the OrderofFriarsMinor and the Orderof Preachers. In 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council decided...
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of the whole Order. Among the earliest recruits were some Englishmen, and the first to go on the special mission of the order were two English friars...
Robert Skeris, A founding member of the Church Music Association of America and a Knight Commander of the Equestrian Orderof the Holy Sepulchre. Fr. Robert...
list of Roman Catholic schools, colleges and universities in the Philippines. More than 1,500 Catholic schools throughout the country are members of the...
the friars arrived at the church in 1631, moving from the old monastery, they brought 300 cartloads of the remains of deceased friars. Fr. Michael of Bergamo...
priest of the OrderofFriarsMinor Conventual, archbishop of Teheran-Isfahan, Iran. A native from the Belgian Luxembourg, he entered the OrderofFriars Minor...
as Our Lady of the Lake College until 2016 Franciscan University of Steubenville (Steubenville, Ohio) - Franciscan Friarsof the Third Order Regular Hilbert...
born Bernard Francis Casey, was an American religious priest of the OrderofFriarsMinor Capuchin. He was known during his lifetime as a healer for his...
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