The Franciscans are a group of related mendicant religious orders of the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi, these orders include three independent orders for men, orders for nuns such as the Order of Saint Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis open to male and female members. They adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of the founder and of his main associates and followers, such as Clare of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, and Elizabeth of Hungary. Several smaller Protestant Franciscan orders or other groups have been established since late 1800s as well, particularly in the Anglican and Lutheran traditions.
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three "First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant, the other being the Conventuals (OFMConv). Franciscans reformed as Capuchins in 1525 with the purpose of regaining the original Habit (tunic) of St. Francis of Assisi and also for returning to a stricter observance of the rule established by Francis of Assisi in 1209.
The Order of Friars Minor Conventual is a male religious fraternity in the Catholic Church and a branch of the Franciscan Order. Conventual Franciscan Friars are identified by the affix O.F.M. Conv. after their names. They are also known as Conventual Franciscans or Minorites.
Raniero Cantalamessa is an Italian Catholic cardinal and priest in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and a theologian. He served as the Preacher to the Papal Household from 1980 until 2024, under Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.
José Rodríguez Carballo is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who became Archbishop of Mérida-Badajoz in June 2024 after a year as coadjutor there. He was secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life from 2013 to 2023 and minister general of the Order of Friars Minor from 2003 to 2013.
Marco Tasca, O.F.M. Conv. is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual who served as the 119th Minister General of the Order from 2007 to 2019. He was appointed the Metropolitan Archbishop of Genoa on 8 May 2020.
Custos means a religious superior or an official in the Franciscan Order. The precise meaning has differed over time, and among the Friars Minor, Conventuals, and Capuchins.
The Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate is a religious institute founded in 1970 by Conventual Franciscans Stefano Maria Manelli and Gabriel Maria Pellettieri and canonically erected by Pope John Paul II in 1998. Their rule of life is the Regula Bullata of Saint Francis of Assisi according to the Traccia Mariana.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tehran–Isfahan is a jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Iran.
Joseph Asajirô Satowaki was a Japanese prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Nagasaki from 1968 to 1990, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1979.
Gregory John Hartmayer, O.F.M. Conv. is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. A Conventual Friar Minor, he serves as the Archbishop of Atlanta in Georgia, having returned to the archdiocese where he worked from 1995 to 2011. From 2011 to 2020, Hartmayer served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah in Georgia.
The Pontifical University of St. Bonaventure or Pontifical Theological Faculty of Saint Bonaventure, commonly called the Seraphicum, is the international study center of the Friars Minor Conventual in Rome. As a Pontifical faculty, the Seraphicum is governed by the Holy See according to the Apostolic Constitution Sapientia christiana.
Pope Francis has created cardinals at nine consistories held at roughly annual intervals beginning in 2014, most recently on 30 September 2023. He plans to create another 21 cardinals at a consistory scheduled for 7 December 2024. The cardinals created by Francis include 142 cardinals from 71 countries, 24 of which had never been represented in the College of Cardinals. His appointments include the first Scandinavian since the Reformation, the first from Goa since an episcopal see was established there in 1533, the first from Latin America's indigenous peoples, the first from India's Dalit class, and the first active head of a religious congregation.
Pierbattista Pizzaballa is an Italian Catholic prelate who has served as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem since 6 November 2020. A Franciscan friar, he served as Custos of the Holy Land from 2004 to 2016 and as Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate from 2016 to 2020. He was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023.
Costanzo de Sarnano, O.F.M. Conv. or Gasparo Torri (1531–1595) was a Roman Catholic cardinal.
Paskalis Bruno Syukur O.F.M. is an Indonesian prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as Bishop of Bogor since 2014. He has been secretary general of the Bishops' Conference of Indonesia since 2022. Pope Francis planned to make Syukur a cardinal in December 2024 but Suykur declined the honor. He is a member of the Order of Friars Minor.
Mauro Gambetti, OFM Conv. is an Italian Catholic prelate who has served as archpriest of Saint Peter's Basilica, Vicar General for the Vatican State, and president of the Fabric of Saint Peter since 2021. He was consecrated a titular archbishop on 22 November 2020 just before Pope Francis raised him to the rank of cardinal on 28 November 2020.
François-Xavier Bustillo OFMConv is a French Catholic prelate of Spanish origin who has been the Bishop of Ajaccio in Corsica since 2021. He is a member of the Conventual Franciscans.
Michael Thomas Martin is an American Catholic prelate who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte in North Carolina since 2024. A priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, he previously worked as a high school teacher and administrator, a parish priest and pastor and as a college chaplain.
Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, OFM, is an Ecuadorian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Archbishop of Guayaquil since 2015. He was Archbishop of Cuenca from 2009 to 2015. He has been president of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference since 2020, having served as its vice president from 2011 to 2014 and from 2017 to 2020.
