Franciscan

The largest religious order in the Roman Catholic Church, founded by St. Francis of Assisi in the early 13th century. Francis' strict and simple rule emphasized the vow of poverty, a condition that caused a great deal of conflict. St. Francis called his followers to wander and preach as well as to help the poor and sick. The impact of the early street preachers and especially of their founder was enormous, so that within 10 years the Franciscans numbered 5000. St. Bonaventure (1257-74) came up with a moderate interpretation of St. Francis' rule that bridged the different schools of thought that had developed over the years; for this reason he is sometimes called the second founder of the order. Under St. Bonaventure the order spread and became known for its schools of theology. Some of the earlier differences of thought are reflected in the three independent branches of the First Order of Franciscans: the Observants, the Conventuals, and the Capuchins. The Second Order is the order of nuns established by St. Clare under the guidance of St. Francis, known as the Poor Clares or Order of St. Clare. The Third Order consists of religious and lay men and women and is further divided into Third Order Secular (living in the world without vows) and Third Order Regular (living in religious communities under vow).