Franciscan Friars, Conventual (O.F.M.Conv.) [Code: 098]

The Franciscan Friars Conventual is the first of the three branches of the First Order of St. Francis. Founded by Francis of Assisi in 1209, the Conventual Franciscans have lived our charism for more than 800 years!  We're the friars you would meet at Francis' basilica in Assisi, having cared for the Saint's body since his death in 1226. Today, there are some 4000 Conventual friars living in fraternity around the globe.

 

The word conventual comes from the Latin meaning “to come together”; we live together in convents, usually called friaries. Franciscan spirituality gives primacy of place to the fraternal life of the friars. From the Conventual perspective, our life in fraternity is the primary ministry we offer to the life of the Church. Community life is an end and ministry in itself. In a world fallen and fractured, the Franciscan life of conventual brotherhood—active participation in the fraternal life, liturgical prayer, shared ministry, communal decision-making, and the common table—witnesses to a radically alternative way of living amidst an increasingly divisive culture.