Gathering time:
Second Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm.
Please confirm schedule before attending!

Place:
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, basement
Little Falls, MN 56345
 

11 active members, 9 inactive members  
canonically established September 1935

Secular Franciscan Order

The Secular Franciscan Order ( Latin: Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis, hence the abbreviation OFS used by members) is a community of Catholic men and women in the world who seek to pattern their lives after Christ in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. Secular Franciscans are tertiaries, or members of the Third Order of St. Francis founded by St. Francis of Assisi 800 years ago.
Originally known as the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, the Order is open to any Catholic not bound by religious vows to another religious order and is made up of both the laity (men and women non-clergy) and secular clergy (deacons, priests, and bishops).
Although Secular Franciscans make a public profession, they are not bound by public vows as are religious living in community. The Third Order Regular (TOR), which grew out of the Third Order Secular, do make religious vows and live in community.
Because the Order belongs to the spiritual family of the Franciscan movements, the Holy See has entrusted its pastoral care and spiritual assistance to the Franciscan First Order ( Order of Friars Minor) and Franciscan Third Order Regular (TOR), which belong to the same spiritual family.

Foundation of the Secular

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. Francis 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. He found a middle way: he gave them a rule animated by the Franciscan spirit. In the composition of this rule Francis was assisted by his friend Cardinal Ugolino, later Pope Gregory IX. The 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. 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 Portiuncula, 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.




St Francis of Assisi Fraternity
Little Falls, Minnesota
Canonically Established September 22, 1935

The St Francis of Assisi Fraternity was canonically established with the consent of Bishop Joseph Francis Busch, DD of the St Cloud Diocese on September 22, 1935. The document of erection was issued by Fr Juvenal Emmanuel, OFM, who on October 20 of that year professed the first six members. From that limited beginning, the fraternity has received to date 347 members, with 19 current active and 6 inactive members. An elected council consists of the minister, vice minister, secretary, treasurer and formation director. A spiritual assistant was, in the early history of this fraternity, a Third Order Regular priest from the staff of the St Francis High School and Convent. Since 1955, in the absence of a friar, a sister from the St Francis Convent has graciously accepted the role of the spiritual assistant. Her role calls upon her to be present, when possible, at council meetings and to provide spiritual leadership and promote the growth of the membership.

Vision

That our fraternities become centers of holiness in union with the total Franciscan family and our Holy Mother, the Catholic Church.

Mission

That we fulfill the spirit of our Rule and the following admonitions of Our Lord and St. Francis in our daily lives, and seek union with the Spirit of God and His will as true brothers and sisters of penance.
"If you wish to be perfect, go, sell all you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come follow Me." (Luke 18:22)
"Take nothing for the journey, neither staff, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money." (Mark 6:8)
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Luke 9:23)
"...Go, and repair My house, for you see it is falling completely to ruin." (2 Celano VI)
"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)
"St. Francis said to the lord Bernard: ... So go and do perfectly what you have heard. And blessed be Our Lord Jesus Christ Who has deigned to show us His Gospel way of life." (Little Flowers of St. Francis)

St. Francis of Assisi Fraternity

Little Falls, MN

Gathering time:
Second Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm.
Please confirm schedule before attending!

Place:
St Otto’s Care Center
920 SE 4th Street
Little Falls, MN 56345