The Society of St Francis - an international Anglican religious community

May the Lord give you peace!

The Society of St Francis is an international religious community, within the Anglican communion, with members in many parts of the world.  We seek to follow Christ in the way of St Francis of Assisi and St Clare of Assisi. 

There are three different paths, or ‘Orders’ within the Society, paths which were founded by Francis himself in the thirteenth century, although our particular expression of the Franciscan life within the Anglican Communion goes back only to the early twentieth century.

The First Order consists of brothers (Society of St Francis - SSF) and sisters (Community of St Francis - CSF) who make vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, live together in community, pray together, and undertake active work of many kinds.  There are SSF brothers in Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the UK, and the USA; and CSF sisters in the UK and the USA.  There are also three small new communities with whom we are in covenant - brothers in Zimbabwe, and brothers and sisters in Korea.

The Second Order (Community of St Clare - OSC) consists of sisters who also make vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and live together in community, but whose work is focussed on prayer and contemplation, and on work within the convent.  OSC sisters live in England; there is also a Poor Clare Solitary in covenant with us living in the USA.

The Third Order consists of women and men who commit themselves to live out their Franciscan vocation in the world.  Their profession vow is fleshed out in an individual Rule of Life, to which they make an annual commitment.  They live in their own homes, may be married or single, and continue to support themselves financially, while meeting regularly for mutual support in local groups.

Click on the (LOCATION DOT) map below to find the website or contact details of Anglican Franciscans in your part of the world.