Third Order of St. Francis

History

When the immediate disciples of Saint Francis had become an order bound by religious vows, it became necessary to provide for the great body of laity—married men and women who could not leave the world or abandon their avocations, but still were part of the Franciscan movement and desired to carry out its spirit and teaching. And so, around 1221, Francis drew up a rule for those of his followers who were debarred from being members of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM). At first they were called Brothers and Sisters of the Order of Penance, but later on, when the OFM was called the First Order and the Poor Clares the Second Order, the Order of Penance became the Third Order of St. Francis, whence the name Franciscan Tertiaries. According to the traditions of the Order, the original Rule was given by Francis in 1221 to a married couple, Luchesius Modestini and his wife, Buonadonna, who wished to follow him but did not feel called to separate as a married couple.