Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis
Order of Secular Franciscans, Denver
About us
Our call is this, to observe the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of St. Francis of Assisi. We have a deep concern for the poor and marginalized in society and work to do what we can to serve those most in need. We seek to live the Christian way, going from gospel to life and life to the gospel.
In 1986 a small group of staff and volunteers at Samaritan House Denver met with Franciscan Friar and shelter director, Fr. Bill Kraus OFMCap. They wanted to learn about his way of life as a Franciscan. Under his guidance and inspiration an emerging fraternity was founded and people began to flock to the call to live out the imitation of Jesus. By 1991 the foundation for a new fraternity had been laid and St. Francis of the Streets was canonically established.
Come and join us!
Our Fraternity
Meetings
St. Francis of the Streets Fraternity meets the third Sunday of every month from 1:30-4pm. Our primary meeting place is Annunciation Parish, 3601 Humboldt St., Denver, CO. Group meetings are held in The Taller.
Ethos
We are devoted to fostering an open and welcoming environment for all who seek after Christ. We are here to discuss and share ideas without the need to agree or convince. We commune together without judgement or condemnation of others. We laugh, we mourn, and we find union in the love of Jesus.
Formation
St. Francis believed that we are meant for daily conversion, our hearts must be always turning back to Our Heavenly Father. As part of that process the fraternity engages in a process of ongoing faith formation. Our call to rebuild the Church as Father Francis showed us means we must build all aspects of our life in the faith.
The Secular Franciscan Order
Over 800 years ago St. Francis of Assisi founded an order of secular people who wanted to follow his way of life but could not leave the world and take the monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Profoundly moved by the God’s Divine Fool, Pope Honorius III approved the original rule of the Third Order of St. Francis. Today we are known simply as The Secular Franciscan Order.
Throughout the centuries the Church has encouraged lay men and women to follow the way of St. Francis in their secular lives and to help in the perpetual work of rebuilding the Church of Christ. Notable within the ranks of the Secular Franciscans are many venerated saints such as, St. Thomas More, St. Catherine of Genoa, St. Joan of Arc, St. Charles Borromeo, St. John Vianney, Pope St. Pius X, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Louis IX of France. Visionary artists, Dante Alighieri, Raphael, Michelangelo, Miguel de Cervantes, and Franz Liszt. And revolutionary scientific minds such as Luigi Galvani and Louis Pasteur.
Franciscans are people of varied passions and talents but we share together a spirituality, a lifestyle, an apostolate, and a community dedicated to the gospel way of The Little Poor Man of Assisi.
Contact
Minister, Annette Garcia Bak OFS
willowbee30@gmail.com
(504) 289-6691
3601 Humboldt Street Denver, CO 80205
St. Francis of the Streets 