Catechism of the Third Order of St. Francis

A question and answer explanation originally written in 1929 of the Rule of the Third Order Secular of St. Francis, as revised by Pope Leo XIII.

“The greatest benefit that Tertiaries derive is that their whole life is regulated by a Rule approved by the Church and capable of leading them to a high degree of sanctity. In fact, the Rule is nothing but the law of the Gospel applied to the condition of people living in the world.”

The Third Order—also called the Order of Penance—is a true order for Catholics who remain in the world. St. Francis founded it in 1221 after men and women, bound by family and daily work, asked him for a way to live the Gospel perfectly without abandoning their ordinary vocations. Members wear the scapular and cord, complete a year of novitiate, and make a lifelong profession to keep the commandments of God and of the Church and to observe the Rule. That Rule is not a new set of precepts binding under sin, but the law of the Gospel applied to life in the world: moderation in dress and manner of living, confession and Holy Communion, daily prayer, fraternal charity, care for the sick and the poor, and a spirit of penance that counters the pride, luxury, and worldliness of the age.

Pope Leo XIII, himself a Tertiary, saw the Order as the Church’s most practical instrument for restoring Christian life. In Auspicato Concessum he invited the faithful into this “sacred army of Jesus Christ.”

This booklet explains every article of that Rule so that those who live in the world may, like the first Tertiaries, serve God in a more perfect manner.

67 pages  |  8in x 5in  |  Paperback