WHAT DOES THE CHURCH SAY ABOUT OUR ORDER?
POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II
On 14th June 1988 to OFS General Chapter Pope Saint John Paul II emphasised the importance of the Secular
Franciscan Order, he said:
"… you are also an “Order”, as the Pope (Pius XII) said: “a lay Order, but a true Order”; also
Benedict XV had already spoken of “Ordo veri nominis” (a true Order). This ancient term – a medieval one – “Order”
expresses your intimate belonging to the great Franciscan Family. The word “Order” means the participation in the
discipline and austerity which is proper of this spirituality, while maintaining the autonomy of your lay and secular
condition, which implies often sacrifices that are not less important than the ones associated with religious and
priestly life”.
POPE BENEDICT XV
On 6th January 1921 in his Encyclical on the Third Order of St Francis “Sacra Propediem” Pope Benedict XV said:
"He [Francis of Assisi] founded an Order, a true Order, that of Tertiaries, not bound by religious vows like the other two
Orders, but likewise shaped by simplicity life of and the spirit of penance. Thus Francis first conceived and successfully
implemented, with the divine help, the project which no founder of a regular Order had yet conceived: to make the
substance of the religious life something that all could share.”
POPE PIUS XII
On 1st July 1956 to the Secular Franciscans of Italy, Pope Pius XII said:
“The Third Order was born in the mind of your Seraphic Father the day that a group of souls, moved and urged on by
his words, asked to be allowed to accompany him on the path he was travelling, following in the footsteps of Christ, in
whose name he was constantly repeating the words: ‘Be perfect’ (Mt. 5.48)…
The Third Order of St. Francis was born to satisfy this thirst for heroism among those who, though having to remain in
the world, did not wish to be of the world. The Third Order, then, seeks souls who long for perfection in their own
state.The world needs this Franciscan spirit, this Franciscan vision of life. It is expected that you, beloved children, know it
deeply, love it with passion, above all that you live it with the perfection that your state allows".
On 14th June 1988 to OFS General Chapter Pope Saint John Paul II emphasised the importance of the Secular
Franciscan Order, he said:
"… you are also an “Order”, as the Pope (Pius XII) said: “a lay Order, but a true Order”; also
Benedict XV had already spoken of “Ordo veri nominis” (a true Order). This ancient term – a medieval one – “Order”
expresses your intimate belonging to the great Franciscan Family. The word “Order” means the participation in the
discipline and austerity which is proper of this spirituality, while maintaining the autonomy of your lay and secular
condition, which implies often sacrifices that are not less important than the ones associated with religious and
priestly life”.
POPE BENEDICT XV
On 6th January 1921 in his Encyclical on the Third Order of St Francis “Sacra Propediem” Pope Benedict XV said:
"He [Francis of Assisi] founded an Order, a true Order, that of Tertiaries, not bound by religious vows like the other two
Orders, but likewise shaped by simplicity life of and the spirit of penance. Thus Francis first conceived and successfully
implemented, with the divine help, the project which no founder of a regular Order had yet conceived: to make the
substance of the religious life something that all could share.”
POPE PIUS XII
On 1st July 1956 to the Secular Franciscans of Italy, Pope Pius XII said:
“The Third Order was born in the mind of your Seraphic Father the day that a group of souls, moved and urged on by
his words, asked to be allowed to accompany him on the path he was travelling, following in the footsteps of Christ, in
whose name he was constantly repeating the words: ‘Be perfect’ (Mt. 5.48)…
The Third Order of St. Francis was born to satisfy this thirst for heroism among those who, though having to remain in
the world, did not wish to be of the world. The Third Order, then, seeks souls who long for perfection in their own
state.The world needs this Franciscan spirit, this Franciscan vision of life. It is expected that you, beloved children, know it
deeply, love it with passion, above all that you live it with the perfection that your state allows".