The Rule of St. Francis (of 1223)
Chapter 1. In the name of the Lord begins
the life of the Friars Minor
The Rule and life of the Friars Minor is this, namely, to observe
the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by living in obedience, without property, and in
chastity. Brother Francis promises obedience and reverence to his holiness Pope Honorius
and his lawfully elected successors and to the Church of Rome. The other friars are bound
to obey Brother Francis and his successors.

Chapter 2. Of those who wish to take up this
life and how they are to be received
If anyone wants to profess our Rule and comes to the friars, they
must send him to their provincial minister, because he alone, to the exclusion of others,
has permission to receive friars into the Order. The ministers must carefully examine all
candidates on the Catholic faith and the sacraments of the Church. If they believe all
that the Catholic faith teaches and are prepared to profess it loyally, holding by it
steadfastly to the end of their lives, and if they are not married; or if they are married
and their wives have already entered a convent or after taking a vow of chastity have by
the authority of the bishop of the diocese been granted this permission; and the wives are
of such an age that no suspicion can arise concerning them: let the ministers tell them
what the holy Gospel says (Mt.
19:21), that they should go and sell all that belongs to them and endeavour to give it
to the poor. If they cannot do this, their good will is sufficient.
The friars and their ministers must be careful not to become
involved in the temporal affairs of newcomers to the Order, so that they may dispose of
their goods freely, as God inspires them. If they ask for advice, the ministers may refer
them to some God- fearing persons who can advise them how to distribute their property to
the poor.
When this has been done, the ministers should clothe the
candidates with the habit of probation, namely, two tunics without a hood, a cord and
trousers, and a caperon reaching to the cord, unless the ministers themselves at any time
decide that something else is more suitable. After the year of the novitiate, they should
be received to obedience, promising to live always according to this life and Rule. It is
absolutely forbidden to leave the Order, as his holiness the Pope has laid down. For the
Gospel tells us, No one, having put his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for
the kingdom of God (Lk.
9:62).
The friars who have already vowed obedience may have one tunic
with a hood and those who wish may have another without a hood. Those who are forced by
necessity may wear shoes. All the friars are to wear poor clothes and they can use pieces
of sackcloth and other material to mend. them, with God's blessing.
I warn all the friars and exhort them not to condemn or look down
on people whom they see wearing soft or gaudy clothes and enjoying luxuries in food or
drink; each one should rather condemn and despise himself.
Chapter 3. Of the Divine Office and fasting, and how the
friars are to travel about the world
The clerics are to recite the Divine Office according to the rite
of the Roman Curia, except the psalter; and so they may have breviaries. The lay brothers
are to say twenty-four Our Fathers for Matins and five for Lauds; for Prime, Terce, Sext,
and None, for each of these, they are to say seven; for Vespers twelve and for Compline
seven. They should also say some prayers for the dead.
All the friars are to fast from the feast of All Saints until
Christmas. Those who voluntarily fast for forty days after Epiphany have God's blessing,
because this is the period our Lord sanctified by his holy fast (cf. Mt.
4:2). However, those who do not wish to do so, should not be forced to it. All the
friars are bound to keep the Lenten fast before Easter, but they are not bound to fast at
other times, except on Fridays. However, in case of manifest necessity, they are not
obliged to corporal fasting.
And this is my advice, my counsel, and my earnest plea to my
friars in our Lord Jesus Christ that, when they travel about the world, the should not be
quarrelsome or take part in disputes with words (cf. 2
Tim. 2:14) or criticize others; but they should be gentle, peaceful, and unassuming,
courteous and humble, speaking respectfully to everyone, as is expected of them. They are
forbidden to ride on horseback, unless they are forced to it by manifest necessity or
sickness. Whatever house they enter, they should first say, "Peace to this
house" (Lk.
10:5), and in the words of the Gospel they may eat what is set before them (Lk.
10:8).
Chapter 4. The friars are forbidden to accept money
I strictly forbid all the friars to accept money in any form,
either personally or through an intermediary. The ministers and superiors, however, are
bound to provide carefully for the needs of the sick and the clothing of the other friars,
by having recourse to spiritual friends, while taking into account
differences of place,
season, or severe climate, as seems best to them in the circumstances. This does not
dispense them from the prohibition of receiving money in any form.
Chapter 5. The manner of working
The friars to whom God has given the grace of working should work
in a spirit of faith and devotion and avoid idleness, which is the enemy of the soul,
without however extinguishing the spirit of prayer and devotion, to which every temporal
consideration must be subordinate. As wages for their labour they may accept anything
necessary for their temporal needs, for themselves or their brethren, except money in any
form. And they should accept it humbly as is expected of those who serve God and strive
after the highest poverty.
Chapter 6. That the friars are to appropriate nothing for
themselves; on seeking alms; and on the sick friars
The friars are to appropriate nothing for themselves, neither a
house, nor a place, nor anything else. As strangers and pilgrims (I
Pet. 2:11) in this world, who serve God in poverty and humility, they should beg alms
trustingly. And there is no reason why they should be ashamed, because God made himself
poor for us in this world. This is the pinnacle of the most exalted poverty, and it is
this, my dearest brothers, that has made you heirs and kings of the kingdom of heaven,
poor in temporal things, but rich in virtue. This should be your portion, because it leads
to the land of the living. And to this poverty, my beloved brothers, you must cling with
all your heart, and wish never to have anything else under heaven, for the sake of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Wherever the friars meet one another, they should show that they
are members of the same family. And they should have no hesitation in making known their
needs to one another. For if a mother loves and cares for her child in the flesh, a friar
should certainly love and care for his spiritual brother all the more tenderly. If a friar
falls ill, the others are bound to look after him as they would like to be looked. after
themselves.
Chapter 7. Of the penance to be imposed on friars who
fall into sin
If any of the friars, at the instigation of the enemy, fall into
mortal sin, they must have recourse as soon as possible, without delay, to their
provincial ministers, if it is a sin for which recourse to them has been prescribed for
the friars. If the ministers are priests, they should impose a moderate penance on such
friars; if they are not priests, they should see that a penance is imposed by some priest
of the Older, as seems best to them before God. They must be careful not to be angry or
upset because a friar has fallen into sin, because anger or annoyance in themselves or in
others makes it difficult to be charitable.
Chapter 8. The election of the Minister General of the
Order and the Pentecost Chapter
The friars are always bound to have a member of the Order as
Minister General, who is the servant of the whole fraternity, and they are strictly bound
to obey him. At his death the provincial ministers and the custodes are to elect a
successor at the Pentecost Chapter, at which the provincial ministers are bound to
assemble in the place designated by the Minister General. This chapter should be held once
every three years, or at a longer or shorter interval, if the Minister General has so
ordained.
If at any time it becomes clear to all the provincial ministers
and custodes that the Minister General is incapable of serving the friars and can be of no
benefit to them, they who have the power to elect must elect someone else as Minister
General.
After the Pentecost Chapter, the provincial ministers and
custodes may summon their subjects to a chapter in their own territory once in the same
year, if they wish and it seems worthwhile.

Chapter 9. Of preachers
The friars are forbidden to preach in any diocese if the bishop
objects to it. No friar should dare to preach to the people unless he has been examined
and approved by the Minister General of the Order and has received from him the commission
to preach.
Moreover, I advise and admonish the friars that in their
preaching, their words should be examined and chaste. They should aim only at the
advantage and spiritual good of their listeners, telling them briefly about vice and
virtue, punishment and glory, because our Lord himself kept his words short on earth.
Chapter 10. On admonishing and correcting the friars
The ministers, who are the servants of the other friars, must
visit their subjects and admonish them, correcting them humbly and charitably, without
commanding them anything that is against their conscience or our Rule. The subjects,
however, should remember that they have renounced their own wills for God's sake. And so I
strictly command them to obey their ministers in everything that they have promised God
and is not against their conscience and our Rule. The friars who are convinced that they
cannot observe the Rule spiritually, wherever they may be, can and must have recourse to
their ministers. The ministers, for their part, are bound to receive them kindly and
charitably, and be so sympathetic towards them that the friars can speak and deal with
them as employers with their servants. That is the way it ought to be; the ministers
should be the servants of all the friars.
With all my heart, I beg the friars in our Lord Jesus Christ to
be on their guard against pride, boasting, envy, and greed, against the cares and
anxieties of this world, against detraction and complaining. Those who are illiterate
should not be anxious to study. They should realize instead that the only thing they
should desire is to have the spirit of God at work within them, while they pray to him
unceasingly with a heart free from self-interest. They must be humble, too, and patient in
persecution or illness, loving those who persecute us by blaming us or bringing charges
against us, as our Lord tells us, Love. your enemies, pray for those who persecute and
calumniate you (Mt.
5:44). Blessed are those who suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven (Mt.
5:10). He who has persevered to the end will be saved (Mt.
10:22).
Chapter 11. The friars are forbidden to enter the
monasteries of nuns
I strictly forbid all the friars to have suspicious relationships
or conversations with women. No one may enter the monasteries of nuns, except those who
have received special permission from the Apostolic See. They are forbidden to be sponsors
of men or women lest scandal arise amongst or concerning the friars.
Chapter 12. Of those who wish to go among the Saracens
and other unbelievers
If any of the friars is inspired by God to go among the Saracens
or other unbelievers, he must ask permission from his provincial minister. The ministers,
for their part, are to give permission only to those whom they see are fit to be sent.
The Ministers, too, are bound to ask the Pope for one of the
cardinals of the holy Roman Church to be governor, protector, and corrector of this
fraternity, so that we may be utterly subject and submissive to the Church. And so, firmly
established in the Catholic faith, we may live always according to the poverty, and the
humility, and the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we have solemnly promised.
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