On September 18, the Franciscan family celebrates the memory of St. Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663), a Conventual Franciscan friar popularly known for the paranormal phenomena that marked his life.
On September 17, Franciscans celebrate the Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis, to recall Francis's body being wonderously marked with the wounds of Christ.
As the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (September 15), it is good to know the important role that Franciscans played in promoting this particular image of Mary and why.
On September 7, Franciscans rejoice, especially with countless young people, as Pope Leo XIV canonizes Blessed Carlo Acutis (1991-2006), as the Church’s first millennial saint.
On September 4, the Franciscan family celebrates the memory of Saint Rose of Viterbo (c. 1233-1251), an audacious young Secular Franciscan woman who challenged her contemporaries as a public preacher.
On September 2, Franciscans honor the memory of Blesseds John Francis Burté, Apollinaris Morel, and Severin Girault—Franciscan friars who were among the 116 priests and seminarians massacred on this date in 1792 at the Carmelite church and friary in Paris during the French Revolution.
On August 25, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Louis IX of France (1214-1270), co-patron of the Secular Franciscan Order and of Third Order Regular men and women.
On August 19, the Franciscan family remembers Saint Louis of Toulouse (1274-1297). Although virtually unknown today, Louis was a phenomenon in his own time, a prince who renounced a throne to become a Franciscan.
What does it really mean to live a penitential life today? For members of the Secular Franciscan Order—or anyone drawn to Franciscan spirituality—this question echoes through centuries of tradition, personal devotion, and communal renewal. St. Francis and the Third Order: The Franciscan and Pre-Franciscan Penitential Movement offers a rich historical and theological exploration of this path, grounding the contemporary Third Order in its earliest roots.
