FRANCISCANS, ORDER Or, also called MINORITES or LESSER BRETHREN, a religious order of the Roman Catholic church, founded by St. Francis of Assisi. For an account of the establishment of the Franciscan order and its earliest fortunes, see FRANCIS OF Assist. The subsequent progress of the order was equally wonderful. In less than half a century it reckoned no fewer than 33 "provinces," the aggregate number of convents in which exceeded 8,000, while the members fell little, if at all, short of 200,000. Some idea, indeed, of the extraordinary extension of this remarkable institute may be formed from the startling fact, that, in the dreadful plague of the black death in the following century, no fewer than 124,000 Franciscans fell victims to their zeal for the care of the sick, and for the spiritual ministration to the dying! But this marvelous external progress was accompanied by serious internal controversies and divisions. In the original scheme of the institute, its great fundamental characteristic was poverty, which St. Francis proposed to render in his order not only more perfect theoretically, but more systematical in its practice, than it existed in any of the contemporary institutes. For the accomplishment of this design, the rule which he drew up contained a few brief and simple, but, understood literally, very effectual provisions; but the difficulty of their literal observance led, even in the lifetime of St. Francis, to an attempt in the general assembly of the order to introduce some important modifications; and, though the authority of the founder was sufficient to prevent the adoption of these modifications during his lifetime, and although his last will contained a special clause prohibiting not merely all change of the rule, but even all interpretation of it, the attempt was renewed with still more determination under brother Elias, his successor in the office of general of the order. The great subject of controversy was the nature and extent of the obliga tiomof religious poverty as vowed in the order. Francis desired that it should be under stood in the most rigorous sense; and in his scheme of poverty, neither the individual brethren nor the entire community could acquire or retain any right of property, even in things of necessary use. The rigorous party in the order sought to carry out this principle to the fullest extent; and they contended that it was unlawful for the order to acquire a right of property in houses, convents, Or even churches; restricting their right in everything which they possessed to the simple use. Several successive popes sought, by explanatory decrees, to settle the dispute; and for a time a compromise was received, by which it was understood that the right of property in all de facto posses sions of the order was vested in the see of Rome; but the foundations of the real con troversy lay deeper than this. They regarded the practice, far more than the theory,
of poverty; and the disputes to which they led eventuated not only in the formation of fresh offsets from the body in the new religious orders to be named hereafter, but also in a large, and, for a time, formidable secession from the church in the sect of the Fraticellians. See FRATICELLIANS.
The supreme government of the Franciscan order, which is commonly said to be the especial embodiment of the democratic element in the Roman Catholic church, is vested in an elective general, who resides at Rome. The subordinate superiors are, first, the "provincial," who presides over all the brethren in a province; and secondly the "guardian," who is the head of a single convent or community. These officers are -elected only for two years. The provincial alone has power to admit candidates, who are subjected to a probation of two years (see NOVITIATE); after which they are, if approved, permitted to take the vows of the order. Those of the members who are advanced to holy orders undergo a preparatory course of study, during which they are called "scholars;" and if eventually promoted to the priesthood, they are styled " fathers" of the order; the title of the other members being "brother" or " lay-brother." A very important feature, however, of the organization of the Franciscan, as it sub sequently became of other orders, is the enrollment of non-conventual members, who continue to live in society without the obligation of celibacy; and in general are only bound by the spirit, and not the letter, of the rule. They are called tertiaries," or members of the third order of St. Francis. See TERTIARY. It is impossible to over estimate the value of this institution in the disorganized social condition of that age. The tertiaries were bound, as the very first condition of enrollment, to restore all ill gotten goods; to be reconciled with all those with whom they had been at feud; to devote themselves to the practice of works of Christian charity; to avoid all unneces sary expenditure ; to renounce the use of persona] ornaments; to hear mass daily; to serve the sick and the hospitals; to instruct the ignorant; and, in a word, to practice as far as possible in the world the substance of the virtues of the cloister. The institute, in this form, undoubtedly exercised a powerful influence in mediaeval society. It counted members in every rank, from the throne to the cottage; and, although it was in some instances deformed by abuses and superstitious practices, the aggregate results were undoubtedly beneficial.