Anglican Franciscans throughout the World

The Society of Saint Francis

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, the USA, and South Korea.

The Second Order (Community of St Clare - OSC) consists of sisters who make the same 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.

Below is a guide to where the Anglican Franciscan community is, around the world:

UK/Europe: First, Second and Third orders

First Order: www.franciscans.org.uk

Second Order: community@oscfreeland.co.uk

Third Order: http://www.tssf.org.uk/

Third Order in Sweden: www.fto.st/

Americas: First and Third orders – this covers North, Central and South America

First Order Brothers: www.s-s-f.org/ (in USA and Brazil)

First Order Sisters: www.communitystfrancis.org (in USA)

Third Order: www.tssf.org (in USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, and Caribbean – Virgin Islands, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Nevis)

Australia

First Order Brothers: www.franciscan.org.au

Third Order: www.tssf.org.au

New Zealand

First Order Brothers: www.franciscan.org.nz

Third Order: www.franciscanthirdorder.godzone.net.nz

South Korea

First Order Sisters: koreanfs@hotmail.com

Korean Franciscan Brotherhood (First Order Brothers) www.francis.or.kr/

Papua New Guinea

First Order Brothers: ssfpng@daltron.com.pg

Third Order: www.tssf.org.au