Welcome to Conventual Franciscans ... Continued from Home Page

Hence the suffix, Conventual, as derived from the Latin, convenire, “to come together.” From the convent (or “friary” in most of the English-speaking world), a stable dwelling within the pulse of the burgeoning social order, the spiritual sons of Francis labored at change and transformation in every spectrum of society. 

The friars harmonized in choir and fashioned splendid pipe organs for the cathedrals of Europe. We collaborated with Palestrina, commissioned Vivaldi, improved the fingering technique of Mozart. We scanned the stars with Galileo, tutored Dante and Lorenzo de Medici, developed mathematical theorems with Leonardo da Vinci. We shared responsibility with Bramante in the construction of Saint Peter’s Basilica, reformed the Roman Curia, and instituted the Swiss Guard. 

In more recent years, the Conventual friars have established the International Franciscan Centre for Inter-Religious Dialogue in Assisi, restructured the primary educational system of Switzerland, created halfway homes for troubled youth and rehabilitation centers for the chemically dependent in the United States and Italy. We have built low income housing for the poor in India, apartment complexes for the handicapped in Canada. We have constructed hydro-electric plants and improved education, health care and agricultural productivity in many countries of Africa. The friars in Asia have built orphanages and day-care centers for children, nursing homes for the elderly, retreat houses for the spiritually needy, and tailoring schools for the jobless. We have pioneered in the behavioral science of handwriting analysis, and we have established centers for peace and justice at the United Nations and in many countries.