, image = Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.jpg , image_size = , caption = , abbreviation = CFR , nickname = , formation = , founders =

Benedict Groeschel Benedict Joseph Groeschel, C.F.R. (July 23, 1933 – October 3, 2014) was an American Franciscan friar, Catholic priest, retreat master, author, psychologist, activist, and television host. He hosted the television talk program ''Sunday Night P ...

Andrew Apostoli
Robert Stanion
Glenn Sudano, Stan Fortuna
Robert Lombardo
Joseph Nolan
Pio Mandato , founding_location =

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United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, type = Clerical Religious Congregation of Pontifical Right (for Men) , coords = , num_members = 117 members (65 priests) , membership_year = 2018 , leader_title = Motto , leader_name = 'The lost I will seek out; the strays I will bring back' , leader_title2 =

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

, leader_name2 = John Paul Ouellette, CFR , main_organ = , parent_organization =

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, website = https://www.franciscanfriars.com/ , remarks = , footnotes = The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal ( la, Fratres Franciscani a Renovatione; Abbreviation: CFR) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men founded in 1987. It follows the Capuchin

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

tradition. Originally formed as a

mendicant A mendicant (from la, mendicans, "begging") is one who practices mendicancy, relying chiefly or exclusively on alms to survive. In principle, mendicant religious orders own little property, either individually or collectively, and in many inst ...

congregation in the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

, it has been recognized under

pontifical right In Catholicism "of pontifical right" is the term given to ecclesiastical institutions (religious and secular institutes, societies of apostolic life) either created by the Holy See, or approved by it with the formal decree known by the Latin nam ...

since 2016. A parallel community known as the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal was established in 1988.

Foundation

The congregation was founded in 1987 by eight Capuchin priest friars, including

, Andrew Apostoli, Robert Stanion, Glenn Sudano, Stan Fortuna, Robert Lombardo, Joseph Nolan and Pio Mandato. The purpose of the community is to strive to a return to the authentic Capuchin way of life and the renewal of the

. In addition, the friars are known for their fidelity to the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. The Community characterizes itself as Catholic,

, Capuchin,

contemplative In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation. Etymology The word ''contemplation'' is derived from the Latin word '' ...

, prophetic, apostolic, fraternal and

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

. Sudano told a reporter about the motive behind forming the community "We were concerned about the effects of secularism on religious life mong the Capuchinsand a lack of clear and explicit fidelity to the Church. That secularism is less prevalent today, thank God, but was very much the case in the 1970s and 80s. What we were observing then were not so much sins of commission, but omission. A pastor, for example, ightnot speak out against the Holy Father, but neither would he speak in support of him. He ouldn'tcondemn adoration of the Blessed Sacrament or the Rosary, but he ouldn'tpromote them either. We worried that many of the traditional expressions of the Faith were not appreciated or practiced." Sudano said that it was their feeling that "Because of this secularism, men weren't attracted to life in religious communities. ... otential candidateswanted to participate in the traditional forms of religious life, and wanted traditional signs, such as wearing the habit." Initially it had not been their desire to break away from the Capuchins. Sudano related, "We recognized that things were not going well. Our desire was to stay in the Capuchin community, but to be a renewal community. We wanted to bring back adoration and traditional devotions and practices, such as wearing the habit. Our superior in Rome was interested in our idea, but the provincials in the United States were not. We were allowed to begin in New York, but after three years of fraternal discussions, it was clear that our order was not interested in our style. So, we decided to continue our work under the archbishop of New York. Leaving our community was not easy. We didn’t leave our confreres because we thought they were evil, but because we had a difference of opinion. Some of our confreres were upset with us, but leaving was something that had to be done."

Apostolate

Their website states that the mission is twofold: First ''"...is to serve the materially poor, most especially the destitute and homeless. Friaries not primarily focused on formation should have one or more facilities to provide for the needs of the poor, for example, a shelter, soup kitchen, food pantry and/or clothing room. Each of these works must be directed by a friar to preserve the Catholic and Franciscan character. Every member of the community is to be personally and directly involved in “hands on” work with the poor. All service to the poor is given completely free of charge''."FFR Apostolates
Second is evangelisation "...''through preaching and teaching the Holy Gospel, and by sharing the rich treasures of our Catholic faith with all. This can take many forms so that every friar may assist in his own way. Some expressions of this apostolate are: providing missionary centers for the poor, street evangelisation, parish missions, retreats, days of recollection, pilgrimages, spiritual direction, pastoral counselling, religious education and sacramental ministry."''

Religious habit and training

The friars wear a grey

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, ...

with a hood, a cord, and sandals. Beards are also characteristic for members of the congregation. The rope worn as a belt around the waist symbolises being girded with

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

and is tied in the three characteristic Franciscan knots which signify the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience which are taken upon becoming a member of the community. Those interested in becoming members of the community go through various stages:

postulancy A postulant (from la, postulare, to ask) was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a Christian monastery or a religious order for the p ...

lasting ten months, followed by a year-long

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

after which

simple vow A solemn vow is a certain vow ("a deliberate and free promise made to God about a possible and better good") taken by an individual during or after novitiate in a Catholic religious institute. It is solemn insofar as the Church recognizes it ...

s are taken. The newly professed members then spend a year or more living in one of the friaries.

Final vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of rel ...

(life-time) are not made until a person has been a member of the community for at least five years. Those who feel called to the ministerial priesthood pursue their studies at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers; during this time, the students live in a nearby friary. Friars who become priests are typically ordained by the Archbishop of New York alongside priests from the

in St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Membership

In 2019, the institute had 111 members, of whom 61 were priests. The institute has friars from various countries and regions, including the

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Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

History

In 1988, the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal were established. They are based in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York City. The group was established as a diocesan institute by Cardinal John O’Connor in 1999. The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal were involved in caring for victims of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and ministering to first responders during the rescue and recovery mission. The following day, September 12, a group of friars walked along subway tunnels to reach Manhattan. The friars appeared as extras in a scene on a subway car for the

film,

Bella Bella is a feminine given name. It is a diminutive form of names ending in -bella. ''Bella'' is related to the Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Latin words for beautiful, to the name Belle, meaning ''beautiful'' in French. It increased in ...

, which won the "People's Choice Award" at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

in 2006. On June 13, 2016, João Cardinal Bráz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and his secretary, José Rodríguez Carballo, OFM, signed a decree of recognition. On December 8, 2016, the group announced that Pope Francis officially recognized the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal as a religious institute of pontifical right, meaning that it will now depend immediately and exclusively on the Holy See in the matters of internal governance and discipline. In November 2020, Bob Lombardo, one of the founders of the CFRs, was ordained a bishop and is serving as an auxiliary bishop in the

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Christian organizations established in 1987 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York