Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis

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The Franciscan Tau Cross

The Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis ( Order Abbreviation: OFS), German Franciscan Secular Order, belongs to the Franciscan religious family . The Catholic Institute of Consecrated Life includes women and men who feel connected to the Franciscan idea and tradition and who want to live “in the world” in this spirit.

The order was called the Franciscan Community in the German-speaking area from the 1970s to 2012 and was part of the so-called Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi . The name "Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis OFS" has been in use internationally for a long time and was adopted in 2012 by the responsible chapters of the order after controversial discussions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

history

The SFO is one of the oldest still existing spiritual lay movements of the Catholic Church . Its beginnings go back to the 13th century. However, it was not founded by Francis himself, even if this has long been portrayed as such; Francis is considered to be the initiator. When believers who did not want to live in a celibate monastic community, but wanted to orient their lives according to the Gospel, asked Francis for inspiration for their life, he gave them an impulse for an intensive Christian life with his "Letter to the Believers" in 1221 in family and at work. The community was not officially recognized until 1289, long after the death of Francis, by Pope Nicholas IV.

A large number of new communities have developed from the Third Order, especially in the 19th century, which, as Amigonians , Elizabeth Sisters, Franciscan Brothers of the Holy Cross, Franciscan Brothers, Franciscan Sisters , Capuchins or Sisters of Our Lady, form the Regulated Third Order.

Intake and goals

Similar to the First and Second Order , admission is preceded by a period of getting to know each other. This is followed by a period of at least one year of instruction, after which the members commit themselves to the community through a temporary or lifelong promise to “ follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ through a life like Francis trusting the Father under the guidance of the Holy Spirit According to the Gospel : as an answer to the love of God, as brothers and sisters of all creatures, undemanding and ready to serve, grateful and happy, committed to peace in every relationship, missionary through the simple life with others, especially the poor and weak, jointly responsible for building up of the Church through constant renewal, contemplative in everyday life, seeing God's history with mankind in creatures and events. ”In the canonically established local congregations, the members of the SFO meet every month for at least one meeting with prayer and scripture reading .

Members of the order

Today several hundred thousand Roman Catholic Christians of both sexes, of all ages and professions as well as in the most varied of living conditions belong to the SFO. Even clerics of the Catholic Church ( deacons , priests , bishops ) can be included to the SFO. The members wear a Franciscan Tau cross as an external identification mark , their motto is: “Pax et bonum” = “Peace and all the best”.

Significant members

Web links

Commons : Franciscan Fellowship  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The "Tau Cross" is also known as the Antonius Cross in Christian symbolism . It is the symbol of the Franciscan order
  2. ^ Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis - Former Franciscan Fellowship (OFS Downloads): Development of the OSF and its name Archived copy ( Memento of the original of March 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ofs.de
  3. ↑ franziskaner.net: OFS - the Third Order. A Franciscan Way Off the Monastic Path , accessed on February 3, 2020.