Franciscans of the Immaculate Vocations Video

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What a neat video! 👍

Their postulant house is in Maine, NY. I spotted a picture of the large pond in front of their friary on the video.
 
barb_finnegan said:
What a neat video! 👍

Their postulant house is in Maine, NY. I spotted a picture of the large pond in front of their friary on the video.
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Yes…almost makes me want to join.

I notice their Third Order wears a habit. The TO appears to be for married or single. If I recall a Franciscan here mentioned they (TO’s) generally do not wear a habit. This order appears VERY traditional.
 
RevDrNorth said:
Yes…almost makes me want to join.

I notice their Third Order wears a habit. The TO appears to be for married or single. If I recall a Franciscan here mentioned they (TO’s) generally do not wear a habit. This order appears VERY traditional.
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I was hoping JR Education might be able to explain the above. As I recall he said secular TO’s do not wear habits (by rule?). This order appears orthodox but it also looks like secular TO’s do wear a modified habit.

Not a trick question. JReducation has been a wealth of info about Franciscans.
 
I am currently subscribed to the Franciscan’s Magazine. It’s wonderful.
 
RevDrNorth said:
I was hoping JR Education might be able to explain the above. As I recall he said secular TO’s do not wear habits (by rule?). This order appears orthodox but it also looks like secular TO’s do wear a modified habit.

Not a trick question. JReducation has been a wealth of info about Franciscans.
Click to expand...
The answer to the question actually has a history. Francis of Assisi founded the first approved secular order in the history of the Church. They were known as the Brothers and Sisters of Penance.

Through the centuries they went through various reforms. Francis had not written a habit into their rule. Later, they did adopt a habit. It was a tunic with a scapular and a chord over the scapular. Later the tunic disappeared and the scapular was worn under the person’s secular clothing, with the chord to hold it in place. As the years progressed, the scapular became smaller. In the end it looked like the traditional brown scapular, except that the image on the scapular is the Tau on one side and St. Francis embracing the cross on the other panel. This small scapular and chord were worn under one’s clothing. This was the habit of the Secular Franciscans.

Some fraternities maintained a modified version of the habit that had been adapted in the past. It was a tunic with a chord, but no scapular and no capuche.

In 1978, under the direction of Pope Paul VI, the Secular Franciscan Order revisited its rule and rewrote it. They maintained the original rule and added some articles that speak to modern issues. Among the things that they did was to emphasize the secular gift of the order. Therefore, they wrote into the new rule that the external sign of the order is the Tau worn on one’s secular clothing. As you can see, the old rule did not prescribe a habit and the reformed rule prescribes a Tau over the secular clothing.

This is not to say that the Immaculata is out of compliance. I am unsure if they follow the rule of the Secular Franciscan Order of if they have their own statutes. If they follow the rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, they can get an indult to wear a habit from the Superior General of the Secular Franciscan Order. They have their own constitutions and their own Superior General who is canonically elected and recognized by the Holy See as the legitimate Successor of St. Francis.

I hope this helps clarify the question.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
JReducation said:
The answer to the question actually has a history. Francis of Assisi founded the first approved secular order in the history of the Church. They were known as the Brothers and Sisters of Penance.

Through the centuries they went through various reforms. Francis had not written a habit into their rule. Later, they did adopt a habit. It was a tunic with a scapular and a chord over the scapular. Later the tunic disappeared and the scapular was worn under the person’s secular clothing, with the chord to hold it in place. As the years progressed, the scapular became smaller. In the end it looked like the traditional brown scapular, except that the image on the scapular is the Tau on one side and St. Francis embracing the cross on the other panel. This small scapular and chord were worn under one’s clothing. This was the habit of the Secular Franciscans.

Some fraternities maintained a modified version of the habit that had been adapted in the past. It was a tunic with a chord, but no scapular and no capuche.

In 1978, under the direction of Pope Paul VI, the Secular Franciscan Order revisited its rule and rewrote it. They maintained the original rule and added some articles that speak to modern issues. Among the things that they did was to emphasize the secular gift of the order. Therefore, they wrote into the new rule that the external sign of the order is the Tau worn on one’s secular clothing. As you can see, the old rule did not prescribe a habit and the reformed rule prescribes a Tau over the secular clothing.

This is not to say that the Immaculata is out of compliance. I am unsure if they follow the rule of the Secular Franciscan Order of if they have their own statutes. If they follow the rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, they can get an indult to wear a habit from the Superior General of the Secular Franciscan Order. They have their own constitutions and their own Superior General who is canonically elected and recognized by the Holy See as the legitimate Successor of St. Francis.

I hope this helps clarify the question.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
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Thank you Brother Jr! You certainly know your Franciscan history, custom, etc.
 
To the best of my knowledge, the third order FI’s only wear their habits to meetings and they are allowed to be buried in the habit. They also are have their own constitutions which are similar to those of the first order friars and sisters.

The entire order is definately quite traditional, especially in the way in which the religious life is lived-- they do all the things you read about in old books about the religious life-- but they are also remarkably flexible, due to the vow of total consecration to Mary. They are very big on perfect obedience. The FI’s are extremely contemplative for an active order; they pray 5 hours a day and are rather penitential.
Our priests have been learning the Latin Mass and recently the FI’s issued a public statement preferring the old Mass. Fr. Stefano, the founder, offered the TLM at St. John Lateran for the anniversary of the approval of the Franciscan Rule. Also, our newest priests were ordained according to the old rite. The contemplative houses use only the old Mass and breviary.

Some of the sermons from the American friaries can be found here, as well as recent news and other FI information: airmaria.com/
 
maria2334 said:
To the best of my knowledge, the third order FI’s only wear their habits to meetings and they are allowed to be buried in the habit. They also are have their own constitutions which are similar to those of the first order friars and sisters.

The entire order is definately quite traditional, especially in the way in which the religious life is lived-- they do all the things you read about in old books about the religious life-- but they are also remarkably flexible, due to the vow of total consecration to Mary. They are very big on perfect obedience. The FI’s are extremely contemplative for an active order; they pray 5 hours a day and are rather penitential.
Our priests have been learning the Latin Mass and recently the FI’s issued a public statement preferring the old Mass. Fr. Stefano, the founder, offered the TLM at St. John Lateran for the anniversary of the approval of the Franciscan Rule. Also, our newest priests were ordained according to the old rite. The contemplative houses use only the old Mass and breviary.

Some of the sermons from the American friaries can be found here, as well as recent news and other FI information: airmaria.com/
Click to expand...
I enjoy airmaria! I also enjoy seeing communities such as this that appear vibrant and are attracting youth AND are traditional.
 
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