About Our Community
Brothers, Sisters, and Oblates in the Franciscan Way
We are a small, dispersed community of laypeople and clergy, bound together by a common Rule of Life and a shared love for the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi.
Our History
The Third Order Franciscan Community of the Evangelical Catholic Church was founded in the early years of the twenty-first century by a small group of Christians who had been formed in the Franciscan tradition and felt called to carry that inheritance into the life of the Evangelical Catholic Church.
From the beginning, ours has been a dispersed community — members living in different cities and regions, connected by prayer, correspondence, and the annual gathering. We have never had a motherhouse or a common residence. Our cloister is the world; our chapel is wherever we find ourselves at the hour of prayer.
Over the years the community has grown slowly and deliberately, always prioritizing depth of formation over breadth of membership. We remain a small community by choice, convinced that genuine fraternal life requires that we know one another by name and bear one another's burdens in a real and personal way.
Membership
Who We Are
Brothers and Sisters
Professed members of the Third Order who have completed the full formation process and made their solemn profession according to the Rule. Brothers and sisters are the core of the community — voting members who bear full responsibility for its life and governance.
Novices
Those who have completed the inquiry period and been received into the novitiate. Novices are full participants in the community's prayer and common life, living under the Rule in a provisional way as they continue their formation.
Inquirers
Those who are in the initial season of discernment, exploring the Franciscan way and the life of our community without formal commitment. Inquirers are warmly welcomed at all community gatherings and events.
Oblates
Friends and companions of the community who feel drawn to the Franciscan spirit but are not called to full membership. Oblates make a simple promise to pray for the community and to seek to live the spirit of the Rule in their own way and according to their own vocation.
Governance
Community Leadership
Leadership in our community is understood as service — a ministry of coordination, encouragement, and care rather than of authority or control. Rev. Todd F. Ambrosia, MDiv, STL, TOF, is the Guardian General of the Order.
Our Common Life
Though we are dispersed, we are not isolated. The community gathers annually for a retreat of three to five days — a time of prayer, study, celebration, and renewal of our profession. Regional gatherings are held when geography permits, and members are encouraged to maintain regular contact with one another through correspondence and mutual prayer.
Each member is assigned a formation companion — a more experienced member who walks alongside them in their spiritual journey, offering encouragement, accountability, and the gift of a listening ear. Formation companions meet with their companions at least quarterly, in person or by other means.
The community publishes a quarterly newsletter, The Little Flowers, which carries news of members' lives, reflections on the Franciscan tradition, and resources for prayer and formation. Members are encouraged to contribute to the newsletter and to share the fruits of their prayer and study with the wider community.
"Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance."
— St. Francis of Assisi, Admonitions
Join Us
Walk With Us
If you feel drawn to this community and this way of life, we warmly invite you to reach out. The door is always open.