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.
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Roman Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the older monastic orders' allegiance to a single monastery formalized by their vow of stability. A friar may be in holy orders or be a non-ordained brother. The most significant orders of friars are the Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians, and Carmelites.
A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, in academics, or mostly in Christian ministry.
St. Bonaventure University is a private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,760 undergraduate and graduate students. The Franciscans established the university in 1858.
A Doctor of Divinity is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. The term is more common in the English-speaking world than elsewhere. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the DD is usually a higher doctorate conferred upon a religious scholar of standing and distinction, usually for accomplishments beyond the PhD or ThD level. In the United States, the DD is generally an honorary degree. In Catholic universities, faculties of theology usually grant the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology (STD), rather than DD, but the DD may be awarded as an honorary degree.
The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is a consortium of eight private independent American theological schools and eleven centers and affiliates. Seven of the theological schools are located in Berkeley, California. The GTU was founded in 1962 and their students can take courses at the University of California, Berkeley. Additionally, some of the GTU consortial schools are part of other California universities such as Santa Clara University and California Lutheran University. Most of the GTU consortial schools are located in the Berkeley area with the majority north of the campus in a neighborhood known as "Holy Hill" due to the cluster of GTU seminaries and centers located there.
St. Joseph's Seminary and College, sometimes referred to as Dunwoodie after the Dunwoodie neighborhood of Yonkers, New York in which it is located, is the major seminary of the Archdiocese of New York. Since 2012, it has also been the major seminary for the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university with a specialised focus in divinity and associated disciplines. It is constituted by twelve theological colleges from seven denominations and three schools. The University of Divinity is the direct successor of the second oldest degree-granting authority in the State of Victoria, the Melbourne College of Divinity. The university's chancery and administration are located in Box Hill, a suburb of Melbourne in the state of Victoria.
Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) is an Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California. It is one of the nine seminaries in the Episcopal Church and a member of the Graduate Theological Union. The only Episcopal seminary located in the Far West, CDSP has, since 1911, been designated the official seminary of the Episcopal Church's Eighth Province, the Province west of the Rocky Mountains.
The Bachelor of Theology degree is a two- to five-year undergraduate degree or graduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, denomination, or parachurch organization. Candidates for this degree typically must complete course work in Greek and (or) Hebrew, as well as systematic theology, biblical theology, ethics, homiletics, hermeneutics, counseling and Christian ministry. The Bachelor of Theology may include a thesis component and may consist of an additional year beyond the coursework requirements for the degrees of Bachelor of Religious Education and Bachelor of Arts. In some denominations, such as the Church of England or the Presbyterian Church in America, it is considered sufficient qualification for formal ordination.
The Washington Theological Consortium is an ecumenical organization of Christian theological schools and interfaith partners located in Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Members cooperate to deepen ecumenical unity in theological education and to broaden interfaith dialogue and understanding and to prepare both clergy and laity with skills they need to minister in a diverse church and society. The Consortium is one of the most diverse of its kind in the nation, as it includes Roman and Byzantine Catholic traditions, mainline Protestants, Evangelicals, and Historic Black Divinity schools; with partners in spiritual formation, Jewish, and Islamic education.
The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (DSPT) is a Catholic graduate school in Berkeley, California. It is a member of the interfaith Graduate Theological Union (GTU) and an affiliate of the University of California Berkeley. DSPT is sponsored by the Dominican Order.
The Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance or simply the Third Order Regular of St. Francis is a mendicant order rooted in the Third Order of St. Francis which was founded in 1221. The members add the nominal letters T.O.R. after their names to indicate their membership in the congregation.
Katarina Schuth, O.S.F., is an American religious sister and academic.
The Franciscan School of Theology (FST) is a Roman Catholic graduate theological school at the University of San Diego, a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. FST is owned and operated by the Province of Saint Barbara of the Order of Friars Minor and also has academic and other affiliations with USD. FST "is the only freestanding Franciscan graduate theological school in North America dedicated to the Franciscan intellectual tradition."
Louis V. Iasiello, OFM, USN is a Catholic priest and retired US Navy officer who served as the 23rd Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy from 2003 to 2006.
Daniel Patrick Horan is a Catholic American theologian, author and former Franciscan priest. He is currently the director of the Center for the Study of Spirituality and professor of Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Theology at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana. He is also affiliated Professor of Spirituality at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. He previously held the Duns Scotus Chair of Spirituality at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and taught at several other academic institutions. He is a columnist for National Catholic Reporter.
Michael Anthony Perry, O.F.M., is an American Franciscan friar who served as the minister general of the Order of Friars Minor from 2013 to 2021.
Casey Cole, OFM is an American Franciscan friar, Catholic priest, writer, and blogger. Cole runs his own online blog and YouTube channel called Breaking in the Habit and is the author of the books Let Go: Seven Stumbling Blocks to Christian Discipleship and Called: What Happens After Saying Yes to God.
