About
About the Order
About the Order of Saint Francis, Old Catholic
The Order of Saint Francis, Old Catholic is a Franciscan religious community within the Old Catholic Churches International, dedicated to a life of prayer, simplicity, fraternity, and service, and open to clergy and laity, men and women.
Pax et Bonum
The Identity of the Order
The Order of Saint Francis, Old Catholic exists as a Franciscan expression of religious life within the Church. Its purpose is to help form men and women in a life more deeply rooted in the Gospel through prayer, humility, charity, common discipline, and faithful service.
The Order stands within the sacramental and ecclesial life of the Old Catholic Churches International while preserving a distinct Franciscan vocation. It is a community shaped by devotion, simplicity, and fraternity, seeking not prestige, but holiness of life and a more faithful following of Christ.
The Franciscan Spirit
Prayer
The Order is grounded in prayer, worship, and devotion, calling its members to seek God daily and to place the life of the soul before the distractions of the world.
Simplicity
Franciscan life is marked by humility, simplicity, and a spirit of detachment, so that the heart may remain free for God, neighbor, and the work of the Gospel.
Fraternity
The Order is a shared way of life, shaped by mutual encouragement, common discipline, and the joy of serving Christ together.
Open to Clergy and Laity
The Order of Saint Francis, Old Catholic is open to clergy and laity alike, and to both men and women. This reflects a serious Franciscan understanding of vocation: that the call to deeper discipleship, prayer, and service may be lived faithfully in different states of life.
What unites the members of the Order is not identical circumstance, but a common desire to live more intentionally in the spirit of Saint Francis, with reverence, discipline, compassion, and fidelity to Christ and His Church.
The Order exists as a Franciscan home within the Church for those called to prayer, simplicity, fraternity, and service in a more intentional and disciplined way of life.
The Purpose of the Order
The purpose of the Order is not merely to gather like-minded people, but to form Christians in holiness, service, and evangelical joy. Its life is meant to help members grow in faithfulness, deepen their prayer, strengthen their devotion to the Church, and bear witness to the Gospel through humility and charity.
In this way, the Order contributes to the wider life of the Church by forming persons whose lives are ordered toward worship, mercy, service, and the steady practice of Christian virtue.
A Religious Community Within the Church
The Order of Saint Francis, Old Catholic belongs to the wider communion of Old Catholic Churches International as one of its religious communities. Its life is therefore fully ecclesial: it participates in the Church’s worship, sacramental life, common mission, and pastoral witness.
Its Franciscan character gives it a distinct voice within that larger communion, but never in isolation from the life of the Church. The Order serves best when it lives faithfully as both Franciscan and catholic, devoted to prayer, service, and the building up of Christ’s Body.
A Way of Formation
The Franciscan life asks for discernment, formation, and perseverance. It is not a decorative identity, but a true vocation that requires seriousness of purpose and a willingness to be shaped by prayer, discipline, and the life of the Gospel over time.
Those who come to the Order are invited to consider whether they are prepared to enter into that path with humility, devotion, and a genuine desire to grow in the life of Christ.
Begin Here
Whether you are discerning a Franciscan vocation, seeking a religious community within Old Catholic life, or simply wishing to understand the identity and purpose of the Order more clearly, you are welcome to continue exploring.