FRANCISCANS, the designation borne by the members of theihree great religious orders founded in the 13th century by Saint Francis of Assisi. The first of these orders is that of the Friars Minor, known as the Greyfriars, and in France as the Cordeliers. The second order is that of the Poor Clares, called in Italian Povere Donne (Poor Ladies), and in France the Clarisses. The third order is that of Pen ance, or Tertiaries.
Saint Francis, keenly alive to the evils which in his day seemed to threaten the very existence of the Church and society, strove to counteract their baneful influence by establishing an order, the members of which were to observe the most absolute poverty, and to be devoted to the serv ice of the Church. The goal which he aimed at was to reproduce the ideal of the divine life on earth, therefore neither he nor his were to possess anything temporal, but were to go about doing good and preaching to all the world the kingdom of heaven. A little band of disciples to the number of seven, aglow with enthusiasm, gathered around the saint, and the little chapel of Sta. Maria degli Angeli, near Assisi, which he called Portiuncula, "the little portion, or in heritance," was the place where the order was first planned. It was truly a humble origin, an insignificant beginning, but Francis had a pre sentment of the future world-wide extension of his order. In 1210 he obtained from Inno cent III a verbal approbation of the rule he had drawn up for it. Forthwith it appeared how accurately he had gauged the wants of his age, for his order sprang at a bound into popular favor. So rapid was its growth that 10 years afterward, at a chapter held near Assisi, more than 5,000 of his religious assem bled, and not half a century had elapsed when they counted missionaries in every known coun try, as may be learned from a bull of Alex ander IV in 1258. In 1260, when a chapter presided over by 'Saint Bonaventure was held at Narbonne, the order had 1,400 houses. At the dissolution of the monasteries in England there were 65 houses of Franciscans and even in 1680, in spite of severe losses in Protestant countries, the order numbered 100,000 members. The order is ruled by a general minister, who, with his council or definitorium, resides in Rome. It is divided into provinces to govern
which provincials are elected. Each province is composed of a certain number of houses or convents, whose superiors are termed guard ians.
Owing to the absolute nature of the poverty prescribed by the second rule drawn up for the first order and approved by Honorius III in 1223, some of Saint Francis' immediate fol lowers showed tendencies inimical to it even in the saint's lifetime. After his death these tendencies became more marked, and were covertly connived at and effectively encouraged by the second minister-general, Elias of Cor tona. This was the rift in the lute which widened as time went on. Some zealous up holders of the purity of the rule, such as Saint Anthony of Padua, Adam de Marisco, Caesar of Spires, protested against all innovations, and labored strenuously to maintain intact their sacred inheritance, receiving the distinctive name of Cesarines, but eventually returning to the body of the order in 1256. Other reforms were initiated, such as that of Peter of Mace rata, 1294; that of Philip of Majorca, 1308; that of John of Vallees, 1336; and others. They met with varying success, until in 1415 a final split took place, one section of the order adopt ing the mitigations which had been introduced in the matter of poverty, this being the bone of contention all through. They became known as the Conventuals, while the members of the other section were called Observants, as ob serving faithfully the Franciscan traditions. These latter still adhere strictly to the original austerity of their rule. Saint Bernardine of Sienna, Saint John Capistran and Saint James de la Marcha were mainly instrumental in pro moting the interests of the Observance. In 1517 Leo X issued his famous bull, lie et vos in vitteam meant, decreeing that a general minister of the whole order was to be chosen from among the Observants, and that the Con ventuals were to elect a master-general. The Observants, however, did not satisfy the zeal of some, and thus we find certain groups, such as the Reformati, originating in Italy; the Alcantarines, or those who follow the reform of Saint Peter of Alcantara, in Spain; and the Recollects.