“The form of life of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular is this: to observe the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by living in obedience, in poverty, and in chastity. Following Jesus Christ after the example of Saint Francis, let them recognize that they are called to make greater efforts in their observance of the precepts and counsels of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let them deny themselves as each has promised the Lord.” - TOR Rule, Article 1

For Francis, the foundation of this life was the fraternity, the community of brothers living together and seeking holiness. From this foundation flowed the work of ministry. Likewise, our fraternal life is the foundation and from it flows the ministry of our community. The core of fraternal life is devotion to the Eucharist and prayer. The life of community is also built up by sharing in common meals, common practices of penance, recreation together, and sharing in ministries,.

Our primary charism of ongoing conversion is a focused living out of the universal call to holiness all Christians have received by virtue of their baptism. Through this charism we seek to witness to the world an achievable path of holiness whereby all are called to sainthood. We work together day by day to grow in holiness, to become more fully conformed to the heart of Christ, and to serve the Catholic Church.

We discern which ministries God is calling us to through prayer, the needs of the Church, and what gifts we have to offer. This can take many forms, but the fraternal life is always the foundation as it was for Saint Francis. Following the tradition of the Third Order of Saint Francis, our ministries follow the pattern of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Our friars serve in the areas of: teaching, education administration, parishes, university campus ministry, evangelism, hospitals, retreats, and more.