Secular Franciscan Order - Origin and Development of The Secular Third Order

Origin and Development of The Secular Third Order

The preaching of St. Francis, as well as his own living example and that of his first disciples, exercised such a powerful attraction on the people that many married men and women wanted to join the First or the Second Order, as is witnessed to in some writings of Francis addressed to them: the two Letters to the Faithful as well as the contents of Chapter 23 of the Regula non bullata, which constitute the basis and spiritual reference for what would become, in time, the Franciscan Third Order. Francis formed his third order because of circumstances that he had not foreseen. As he preached penance in one place after another, devout lay persons who were bound by family responsibilities begged to be taught a more perfect way of life. He showed them how they must lead the Gospel life at home and at their work, and spread the Gospel teaching by word and example among their neighbors, in imitation of the poor and suffering Christ. St. Francis found a middle way: he gave them a rule animated by the Franciscan spirit. In the composition of this rule St. Francis was assisted by his friend Cardinal Ugolino, later Pope Gregory IX.

As to the place where the Third Order was first introduced nothing certain is known. Of late however the preponderance of opinion is for Florence, chiefly on the authority of Mariano of Florence, or Faenza, for which the first papal Bull (Potthast, "Regesta Pontificum", 6736) known on the subject is given, whilst the "Fioretti" (ch. xvi), though not regarded as an historical authority, assigns Cannara, a small town two hours' walk from Porziuncola, as the birthplace of the Third Order. Mariano and the Bull for Faenza (December 16, 1221) point to 1221 as the earliest date of the institution of the Third Order, and in fact, besides these and other sources, the oldest preserved rule bears this date at its head.

The Fioretti di San Francesco, or Little Flowers of St. Francis, Chapter XVI, which also contains the famous story of St. Francis preaching to the birds, relates that St. Francis, Friar Masseo and Friar Agnolo traveled to and preached at a city called Saburniano (Cannara). Those that heard them were so inflamed by their message that they desired to leave the city and follow these friars into the wilderness. St. Francis told them that such a thing was not necessary, but instead he established the Third Order "for the universal salvation of all people." St. Francis had already been concerned about the expansion of his order at the expense of families. He refused entrance to his order by married men (and the women from admission to the Poor Clares) who sought to follow the Franciscan way, because families should not suffer. He wrote a rule that was simple and clear, so that the lay person could live within the bonds of the Sacrament of Marriage and love and serve the Lord by serving their fellow human beings.

Another story tells of Luchesio Modestini, a greedy merchant from Poggibonzi, who had his life changed by meeting St. Francis about 1213. He and his wife Buonadonna were moved to dedicate their lives to prayer and serving the poor. While many couples of that era who experienced a religious conversion chose to separate and enter monasteries, this couple felt called to live out this new way of life together. St. Francis was moved to write a Rule for them which would allow them to do so. Thus began the Brothers and Sisters of Penance in the Franciscan movement, which came to be called the Franciscan Third Order. The Chiesa della Buona Morte in the city of Cannara, (Church of the Good Death, previously named, "Church of the Stigmata of S. Francesco") claims to be the birthplace of the Third Order. Another contender from the same city is the Church of S. Francesco which bears a 16th century plaque on the Fasçade of the Church which reads:

D(omino) Francisco poenitentium ordinis hoc in oppido secularium priusquam alibi institutori sacrum: Master Francis instituted the order of secular penitents in this town before doing so anywhere else.

This way of life was quickly embraced by many couples and single men and women who did not feel called to the stark poverty of the friars and nuns, especially widows. They zealously practiced the lessons Francis had taught them concerning prayer, humility, peacemaking, self-denial, fidelity to the duties of their state, and above all charity. Like Francis himself, they cared for lepers and outcasts. Even canonical hermits were able to follow this Rule and bring themselves into the orbit of the Franciscan vision. The Order came to be a force in the medieval legal system, since one of its tenets forbade the use of arms, and thus the male members of the order could not be drafted into the constant and frequent battles cities and regions waged against one another in that era.