Anglican Franciscans- First, Second and Third Orders

The Society of St Francis is a worldwide religious community in the Anglican Communion. The Society of Saint Francis comprises: The Brothers of the First Order; The Sisters of the First Order; The Sisters of the Second Order; The Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order.

Within Anglicanism, the Brothers of the First Order are called the Society of Saint Francis (SSF); the Sisters of the First Order are called the Community of Saint Francis(CSF); the members of the Second Order are called the Community of St. Clare  (OSC); and the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order are called The Third Order of the Society of Saint Francis (TSSF).

Each component  of the order is under the leadership of a Minister General, currently Br Clark SSF (elected in 2007) for the First Order brothers, Sr Joyce CSF (elected in 2002) for the First Order sisters, and the Revd Dorothy Brooker TSSF (elected in 2005) for the Third Order brothers and sisters. Under the Minister General the Order is divided into provinces, each governed by a Minister Provincial. The Second Order, being enclosed, elect an Abbess, and are currently active only in the United Kingdom. In 2012 the membership stood at approximately 200 members in community (combined First and Second Orders) and 3,000 dispersed members (Third Order).

Now that Anglican Use Ordinariates, are present in the Roman Catholic Church, we may eventually see the inclusion of distinctive Anglican Use fraternities within the Secular Franciscan Order. Some interest in this has already been expressed.

For more information on the Anglican Third Order Society of St. Francis go to this link http://tssf.org/