In spite of the originality of the charism of Francis, a penitential foundation always remained in his spirituality. And it may be supposed that he continued his relationship with the penitential movement although we do not know of any of his writings directed exclusively to these penitents. Although the great Franciscan scholar, Fr. Kajetan Esser, OFM considers the I Letter to All the Faithful as written by St. Francis to the penitents, we find ourselves in the realm of a "working hypothesis." Therefore, it is my belief that we cannot affirm so absolutely, as has often been the case, that Francis of Assisi and his first followers are the Founders of the Third Order of Penance. Rather, we should speak of them as the propagators or promoters of this penitential movement which in its second phase (some 50 years later) became the Franciscan "Third Order" of Penance.

cf. Fr. Lino Temperini's essay: St. Francis of Assisi: Father and Teacher of the Third Order in the following.chapter. See especially page 49.

Let us recapitulate the preceding material in four points:

I . St. Francis and his companions labored to promote the state of penance among Christians. As a result of their penitential preaching and influence, many new groups of penitents arose. This promotion logically brings along with it a certain "franciscanization. "

2. Franciscanism, in its beginnings, scarcely changed the spirituality and internal structure of the pre-existing penitential movement.

3. Francis and his companions must be considered "preachers of penance" and not simply "voluntary penitents."

4. It cannot continue to be held that among those faithful close to St. Francis, first there arose groups of Christian lay people desiring to live in penance (T.O.F.), and only later, from these arose the "regular, or religious Franciscan penitents" (T.O.R.) as the more or less "traditional" explanation had it.

Nowadays, as the result of serious studies carried out, we must speak of simultaneous origins. There co-existed during this period starting from the 12th-13th centuries, lay groups and "regular" groups of penitents (i.e. groups which lived together in community with a rule of life or "propositum").

3. THE FRANCISCAN PENITENTIAL MOVEMENT
     OR THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS

Since this aspect of the relationship of St. Francis with the penitents and that of the first Franciscans with the penitential movement has been so little studied, it must be remembered that here we are in the realm of theory or "working hypothesis" as stated above.

Nevertheless, in the year 1289, 63 years after the death of St. Francis (+ 1226), the first Franciscan Pope (Girolamo de Ascoli), Nicholas IV, approved the Rule of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance of St. Francis of Assisi with the Bull Supra Montem (1289) calling St. Francis of Assisi the "Institutor" of the "Order of Penance."

a. When did the Penitential Franciscan Movement begin to be called the Third Order of St. Francis?

This is not known exactly but there are some leads:

• Friar Thomas of Celano, in his first Life of St. Francis (n.37) uses the expression "the threefold army."

• Friar Bernardo de Bessa, a Franciscan and the secretary of St. Bonaventure, already uses the term "Third Order" in his book "Liber de Laudibus bti. Francisci" (chap.viii) written in 1287.

• Cardinal G. Buccamuzzi, during the "sede vacante" of 1287-1288, speaks of the Fratres et Sorores de Poenitentia vel, ut superinducto utamur vocabulo, de Tertia Regula bti. Francisci.

In this way, gradually it became the custom to use the title of Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance.

Editor's note: However, as Fr. Gabriele Andreozzi TOR points out in his Storia delle Regole e delle Constituzioni dell'Ordine francescano secolare this title was not pleasing to the Friars of Penance, very conscious of their autonomy, and so was never used in their official documents. However, the name "third order" became more and more commonly used by the Minors and, consequently, in papal documents inspired by them.

b. The growth and unification of the groups of penitents or ternaries

The number of persons belonging to the Franciscan Order of Penance rapidly increased. Since they followed the most varied forms of religious life then permitted, they found themselves involved in a serious problem. The Church at that time was struggling with all its might against the various groups of heretics demanding reforms. Due to the similarity of life-styles and desire for reform among both the heretical groups and the fraternities of penitents/tertiaries, the hierarchy did not always know how to separate the wheat from the chaff! For an example of the problem, we might examine the "penitent communities" of Belgium and Holland. The communities of brothers felt the full force of these difficulties both from persons and groups within the Church desirous of either the suppression of any type of community or eremitical life or their absorption into the first Franciscan Order.

c. Examples showing the existence of communities and fraternities of Franciscan tertiary penitents in Europe (13th-14th centuries).

We can find any number of these groups throughout Europe during this period.

In Italy:

• 1289. At Montecasale, Tuscany, there existed a community of Tertiary Hermits. (Cfr. ANDREOZZI, G., Monte Casale nei Fioretti e nella nostra storia. en Analecta TOR, V, 813-814).

• 1295. In Montefalco, the Bishop of Spoleto approved a community of Tertiary Sisters professing the Rule of Nicholas IV. (Cfr. ANDREOZZI, G., S. Rocco en Montefalco, La Porziuncula del TOR. Analecta TOR, IV, p.220ff.)

• 14th century. "Favorably approved by the Regent, Phillip, and under James III, the Beguines were able to establish themselves in Majorca. Like their companions. in Catalonia and Valencia, they are called and are members of the Third Order of St. Francis. They are in charge of hospices ... "

There was a community of Beguines in Palma which was connected to the one in Valencia. Some "Beguinas" of the Order of the Third Rule of St. Francis lived in Puig de Pollence before 1345, They had an excellent rapport with the pious faithful and were favored by the King himself. Later, they united in order to follow their common life in a new convent dedicated to St. Elisabeth of Hungary. (Cfr. Comunicacions, n. 23).

• 1317: In Palma there was a Convent under the patronage of St. Elizabeth of Hungary which was the residence of a community of Beguine Sisters. This is the present day Monastery of St. Jerome. (1bidem)

In Austria:

• 1242: There is documentation for a fraternity of Beguine brothers in Wiener Neustadt connected with the Franciscans.

• 1255:  In a chronicle of the Franciscans of Vienna, it is related that 5 of the tertiary brothers had moved from Linz to Switzerland at the invitation of Hartmann the Elder who built for them the Monastery of Bernberg unter Winterthur.

• 1302:  A house of religious women living near the Franciscan Friary is mentioned in the relation. The document also speaks of a "meisterin" or lady teacher of the Order of Penance of St. Francis. (Cfr. PASTOR, B. Analecta TOR... )

4. The evolution towards the formation of T.O.R. congregations

14th Century:

The first official document on behalf of the "Tertiaries Regular," properly so called, is the Bull Altissimo in divinis of Pope John XXII in 1324 which recognizes the existence of the community form of life of the friars or Tertiaries Regular.

In regards to the female branch of the Third Order Regular, in 1397, Blessed Angeline of Marsciano established her first monastery of Tertiary Franciscan Sisters who were especially dedicated to the instruction of youth.

Editor's note: In 1241, Graf Hartmann IV of Dillingen (Diocese of Augsburg, Germany) endowed a small group of pious women with a house by the city wall to ensure their livelihood. In 1303, the Bishop of Augsburg gave them the recently approved Rule of Nicholas IV and some Statutes which defined their community style of life, thereby distinguishing them from the Third Order Seculars. The Dillingen Franciscan Sisters seem to have the earliest date of existence among all present day TOR Franciscan congregations. (cfr. "TAU-INFO,"vol. 6,1991 - CFI, Rome. 

15th Century:

During the first half of the 15th century there began the process of unification of the communities of the Third Order Regular in the various countries of Europe resulting in the formation of national TOR Congregations.

• 1401: Union of the Tertiaries Regular of Utrecht.
• 1413: The communities in Flanders unite.
• 1427: Union of the Tertiaries Regular of Cologne.
• 1436: Union of those in Belgium. (cfr. the Bull of Eugene IV Ad apostolicae dignitatis).
• 1442: Union of the Tertiaries Regular of Spain. (cfr. Bull of Eugene IV Injunctum nobis).
• 1447: Union of Tertiary Friars of Italy with the Bull of Nicholas V Pastoralis Officii.
• 1473: Union of the Tertiary Friars of Dalmatia.

16th Century:

• 1521: Pope Leo X promulgated a Rule for the Tertiaries Regular which was accepted by those communities associated with the Ist Order.

• 1568: Pius V, with the Bull Ea est officii nostri suppressed the offices of Minister, Vicar and Visitator General of the Third Order Regular of both male and female branches "in universum orbem. "

• 1586: The Conventual Franciscan Pope Sixtus V with the Bull Romanis pontificis providentia of March 29, 1586 authorized the Tertiaries Regular of Italy to again hold a General Chapter and elect their own ministers.

17th Century:

The Dalmatian and Croatian Congregation of Friars united with the Italian Congregation of the Third Order Regular in 1601.

The other national TOR congregations began to disappear due to local problems, or the increasing old age of their members or absorption into the First Order.

19th Century:

There is need to highlight the flourishing of apostolic institutes of men and women, but especially the latter, which adopted the TOR Rule for their Congregations, although this was often for legal rather than charismatic motives. These Institutes arose for specific purposes such as assistance to children, the elderly, the poor, immigrants, orphans, the sick, for both popular and professional teaching, assistance to juvenile delinquents, etc.

In this period, the ancient Spanish TOR Congregation (Terceros) approved in 1413 was suppressed by the civil laws of exclaustration of 1835.

20th Century:

In the year 1927, the Holy Father Pius XI approved an "aggiornamento" of the Rule of the Third Order Regular. This remained in effect until the new TOR Rule was approved by Pope John Paul II with the Apostolic Letter Franciscanum Vitae Propositum dated December 8, 1982.

II.

THE JURIDICAL ASPECT:
THE EVOLUTION OF THE TOR RULES

Admitting that even if St. Francis of Assisi and his first companions were only the "Promoters" and not exactly the Founders of the Franciscan Penitents, we can agree that "Francis allowed those Penitents who wished to follow him, while remaining in the world, to adopt as their rule the Memoriale Propositi (Thesis, n. 66). In this way, we may consider Francis and his friars as the teachers, the formers, the inspirers of these fraternities of penitents.

cf. Fr. Lino Temperini's essay: St. Francis of Assisi: Father and Teacher of the Third Order in the following chapter. See especially page 49.

A. THE RULES OF THE THIRD ORDER REGULAR

I . The Memoriale Propositi (1221-1228)

There are 3 Latin editions of the Memoriale which have come down to us:

• The Capistrano edition published by Paul Sabatier
• The Koenisberg edition by L. Lenunens
• The Venetian edition by B. Bughetti

This last dates from 1228 and is the oldest.

The Propositum which the penitents used in 1221 is preserved for us in a memorial of May 20, 1228. There are at least two additions to this edition of 1228 (which contains the text assumed to date from 1221): no. 17 which is an allusion to the Bull of May 21, 1227 and the final paragraph no. 39 of Dominican inspiration regarding the legal obligation of observing the Propositum.

A summary of the 39 articles of the Memoriale

Articles I to 15: Personal Ascetical Practices

• 1- 4: Regulations about the style of clothing
• 5:      Prohibition of attending banquets, dances and  immodest shows
• 6-11: Concerning fasts and abstinence
• 12-15: Prayer, the recitation of the Divine Office or the 24  "Paters. " Obligation of confession 3 times annuall  and reception of Communion on Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost

Articles 16 to 28: Social Obligations-Works of charity

• 16-18: Prohibition against bearing arms and swearing oaths. Here we enter into the duties to the community, the promise of mutual peace and the promise to preserve a just relationship with one's neighbor

• 19-22: The obligation to assist at the monthly meeting in order to attend Mass, listen to a conference by a learned brother regarding the penitential way of life, of sharing of material goods and offering mutual assistance

• 23-24: Duties towards the deceased members: Attendance at the funeral, the suffrages for each deceased member. The Priest is to offer 3 Masses for both the living and the dead.

• 25: The obligation to make a Will so as to avoid lawsuits among the members of one's family

• 26: They must be reconciled among themselves and, if involved in lawsuits with nonmembers, should follow the counsel of the Ministers. The Peace-making Mission of the Penitents.

• 27: When harassed by laws, privileges, or by civil authorities they shall take counsel with the Ministers and the Bishop

• 28: Let each one accept the duty which he has been called to perform. Obedience.

Articles 29 to 39: Internal Organization and Administration of the Fraternity

• 29-33: The requirements for those seeking admittance to the "Order of Penance." The Ministers are to examine them and oblige them to fulfill certain duties and promises. These duties will be amplified in the Rule of Nicholas IV.

• 34-36: Penalties which are to be imposed by the Visitator or by those in authority

• 37:   The power of the Minister to dispense

• 38:   The election of other ministers for organization and administration

• 39: The penance imposed by the Visitator and the obligation to fulfill it

This last article dealing with the Visitator is an interesting point as the possible connection between the Penitents and the Friars Minor which will be examined in the evolution of the Rule of Nicholas IV:

• In the Memoriale it is not stated whether the Visitator must be a priest, a religious or a Friar Minor.

• In the Rule of Friar Caro of Florence (1284) we find that the Visitator must be a priest.

• In the Rule of Nicholas IV it is stated that the Visitator is to be a priest of the Friars Minor.

Another interesting aspect of the Memoriale is that it expresses the raison d'etre of this movement, or the spiritual and ecclesial basis for the penitents:

"Continual penance, mercy and the works of charity represent and encompass the specific purpose of the "Order of Penance" and its reason for existing in the Church" (69).

Let us briefly explain this statement:

• continual penance: its "vertical" obligations. Conversion to God is expressed in a simple and modest style of clothes, the refusal to attend indecent shows and recreations, the fasts and abstinences, frequent prayer and participation in the sacraments, attendance at the monthly meeting, and being present at the funerals of departed brothers and sisters.

• mercy and the works of charity: its "horizontal" obligations or relations with one's neighbour. The penitent is to live peacefully with one's neighbour, to respect the property and rights of others, to pay one's taxes, not to bear arms nor to take oaths, to be apostles to one's family, to assist financially the poorer brothers and the sick to visit and to care for the sick brothers, to make a will so as to avoid disputes and legal controversies, not just to be peaceful but to be peace-makers.(79)

2. The Rule of Friar Caro of Florence (1284)

In 1284, two fraternities of Penitents in Florence compiled a single Rule with the intention of unifying and reconciling the "grey" (Franciscan oriented) and the "black" (Dominican oriented) penitents. This Rule is attributed to the Florentine Friar Minor Caro (or Claro, or Chiaro). This new Rule contained 20 chapters and essentially reproduced what was contained in the Memoriale, amplifying it and modifying it with a reference to the First Order. The visitator should be a priest of any approved Order, a pious man, well instructed in the Word of God. (cfr. Peano, Le religiose franciscane .... p. 13)

3. The Rule of Nicholas IV (1289)

On the 18th of August, 1289, the first Franciscan Pope Nicholas IV (Girolamo Massi de Ascoli-Picena) issued the Bull Supra Montem which gave a new Rule to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance.

This Rule of Nicholas IV consists of 20 chapters and 60 articles. It seems to have been substantially taken from that of Friar Caro of Florence with some changes. It proclaimed St. Francis of Assisi as the "Institutor of this Order" and advises that the Visitators be chosen from the members of the Ist Franciscan Order.

This Rule seems to have been the canonical response of the Holy See to the numerous requests of the penitents, whether living in their own homes or in communities, for some official recognition of their way of life. With this official approbation of the Church, many movements and associations .... penitents and Beguines welcomed this document as a means of legalizing their situations and became Franciscan ternaries. (cfr. Pazzelli, passim).

Here we should review the state of the juridical situation of the penitents or ternaries of the 13th century from the Memoriale on to the Rule of Nicholas IV:

• We do not have the original text of the Memoriale of 1221.

• We do have various manuscripts giving us the Rule as it was from 1228 until that of Nicholas IV (1289).

• The oldest text we have is that published by Fr. Bughetti and the oldest commentary that of Fr. Oliger.

• We do have texts of the Rule as published by Nicholas IV and later elaborations by Fr. Mariano of Florence.

• In the manuscripts we find the title as the "Rule of the Penitents," or "of the Continents." Very rarely is found the addition "of St. Francis."

• Finally, we know that the Rule of the Penitents was modified in 1284 by the Friar Minor Caro of Florence. It is this Rule, with some minor alterations, which was approved in 1289 by Nicholas IV, a Franciscan, as the "Rule of the Franciscan Penitents." (Thesis n. 72).

4. The Rule of Leo X (1521)

The 5th Lateran Council (1512-1517) had insisted on a thorough reform of the Church in its institutions and its members. As a response to this need, two editions of a revised Rule were drawn up which should be of interest to every member of the Third Order Regular.

With the Bull Inter Cetera Nostro Regiminis, (Ann. Minorum, an. 1521,n. 19,t.XVI, Quaracchi, 1933, pp. 147-150) Pope Leo X promulgated, on Jan. 20, 1521, a revised Rule for Regular Tertiaries but without specifying exactly for whom it was destined, nor how obligatory was its acceptance. The Pope took the Rule of Nicholas IV and adapted it to religious life by removing all those articles which referred to lay people and by adding guidelines for religious perfection.

This Rule has 10 chapters, very brief, with the following titles:

1. The Reception of Novices
II. Of that which the Religious must promise at their Profession
Ill. Fasting
IV. The Divine Office and Prayer
V. The Election of Superiors and Officials
VI. The Manner of External and Interior Comportment
VII. Visiting and Caring for the Sick
VIll. Visitation of the Religious by the Superiors
IX. Suffrages for the Deceased
X. The Obligation to Observe the Rule

The Italian Congregation did not accept this revised Rule but continued to observe the Rule of Nicholas IV along with the "General Statutes" issued at the General Chapter of Florence in 1472. The Leonine revision of the Rule only mentioned Local Ministers (the offices of the Provincials and the Visitator disappearing) since these Local Ministers were to be under the authority of the Ministers General and Provincial of the Friars Minor. Therefore, the Rule was not acceptable to the Friars of Italy since this would have meant renouncing the privilege of autonomy and having their own Minister General, privileges which the Pope had not suppressed.

5. The TOR Rules of Pope Paul Ill (1547)

Pope Paul Ill approved a Rule with the Bull Ad fructus uberes dated July 3, 1547 (cfr. BORDONI, Archivium .... Parmae, 1658, pp.444-482). Actually, this was a triple Rule meant for religious men, women, and laity respectively who lived in the Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal. Each text of the Rule is composed of 10 chapters after the model of the 10 Commandments.

6. The TOR "Rule" of Fr. Bonaventure Da Vicenza (1549)

With the passing of time, the necessity of revising the Rule of Nicholas IV and the adjustments of the "Statutes" of 1472 was recognized. Therefore, Friar Bonaventure da Vicenza, the Minister General, decided to undertake a revision of the TOR Rule for the Italian Congregation. He arranged and codified the Statutes of 1472 so that, in 1549 with the consent of his Definitory, he petitioned and received the approval of this "Rule" with the apostolic authority of Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, the Protector of the Order. This revision is written in the elegant Latin of the Renaissance and consists of 30 chapters. This revised Rule was the one professed by the friars of the Italian congregation until the Rule of Pius XI in 1927.

7. The TOR Rule of Pius XI (1927)

In the year 1925, Pope Pius XI named a commission to draw up a new Rule for the Third Order Regular and all the numerous Tertiary Franciscan Congregations which had arisen in the 19th century. This new Rule took into account the Franciscan spirit and the legislation contained in the new Code of Canon Law. It was approved with the promulgation of the Bull Rerum Conditio on October 4, 1927 (AAS. 19/1927/ 361-7). Essentially, it was an adaptation of the Rule of Leo X and it became the official text for all congregations of the Third Order Regular.

It has eight chapters with these titles:

I. Summary of Religious Life
II. Novitiate and Profession
Ill.    Charity towards God and Neighbour
IV. The Divine Office, Prayer and Fasting
V. Manner of Interior and External Behaviour
VI. The Care of the Sick
VII.  Work and the Manner of Working
VIll. The Obligation to Observe Everything Contained in the Rule

8. The TOR Rule of Pope John Paul 11 (1982)

Following the Second World War (1939-1945) with all that this meant in the change of mentality and in society, even before Vatican II, the religious orders desired an adaptation in their way of life. The Council, besides the changes proposed for the Church, also insisted very strongly on the need for religious institutes to return to their roots and to deepen their own charism. Logically, all of this affected the many congregations of men and women which professed the Rule of the Third Order Regular approved in 1927.

In 1965 twenty-five congregations of Franciscan Sisters of France and Belgium joined together in a project of forming a Rule meant only for TOR women. The resulting document of 12 chapters was entitled "The Rule of Life of the Franciscan Religious (Sisters)" and was published in 1972.

In 1967 nineteen Dutch congregations joined in a similar project and composed "The Dutch TOR Rule" in 6 chapters.

The Franciscan congregations of Germany also prepared a text of 6 chapters entitled "The German TOR Rule."

In 1974, the IV Interobediential Congress of the Third Order Regular met at Madrid and prepared a project on the Rule in 6 chapters entitled "An Understanding of Franciscan Penitential Life." This later became known as "The Madrid Document."

Each of these projects came about independently of the others and was based, at times, on different or even contrasting principles!

The promoters of the French Project organized an International Congress of Franciscan Sisters, or The Assembly of 1976, which took place in Assisi. Although the French Project served as the basic text, the Dutch, the German and the Madrid documents were also presented. The representatives of masculine congregations of the TOR noted two omissions that should be avoided in the future: any proposed Rule should be the same for both masculine and feminine congregations in accord with the TOR tradition from its origins, and that the penitential spirituality, so characteristic of TOR spirituality should not be so completely ignored!

The International Franciscan Meeting at Assisi, October, 1979. In this meeting the collaboration and participation of male TOR congregations was invited and 4 delegates representing the OFM Conv., the OFM, the OFM Cap., and the TOR were named. Two international organizations were also established: the International Franciscan Bureau (BFI) composed of 6 general superiors of TOR congregations, and an International Franciscan Commission (CFI) composed of 9 members. In the votation on the various projects, the French text received 92 votes out of a possible 116.

The Grottaferrata Meeting was held from March 8-10, 1980 between the members of the CFI, the BFI, and the 4 delegates of the Franciscan Friars. At this meeting, it was decided that:

1. The projected text should be the same for men and woman Franciscan groups.

2. The text should take into account the basic principles of Franciscan spirituality and the fundamental values which had inspired the various congregations.

3. The basic text would be the one which had received the most votes at the Assisi meeting.

4. A group would be set up to work on the project.

The working team met at Reute, Germany from the Ist to the 10th of September, 1980. The members of the BFI and CFI met on the 11th- 13th and then sent on the text to alI the congregations so that these could examine it and propose possible changes before April 15, 1981. The members of the working team met again May 10-20th, 1981 in Brussels to review the 205 observations received. The text was again recast and became known as "The Brussels Text" and was sent out to all the congregations so that the General Councils could approve it officially in the name of each congregation.

A General Assembly took place at the "Domum Pacis" in Rome from March 1-10, 1982. It was the most important and most attended of all the meetings and assemblies to that date. Some 192 General Superiors or their delegates were present so that the number of participants was more than 260 persons representing 285 TOR congregations from 37 countries and the 5 continents. The 8 days of meetings and prayer brought the participants to a deeper understanding of what it means to form part of the Third Order Regular Family. In spite of a variety of origins, apostolates, and styles of life there were common fundamental values (the Rule) at the same time as a rich and precious diversity (Constitutions). The text was voted upon and approved by the Assembly and was presented by the BFI to the Sacred Congregation of Religious. The Prefect of the Congregation, Cardinal Pironio announced on April 30, 1983 the solemn papal confirmation of the Rule with the Brief Franciscanum Vitae Propositum dated December 8, 1982. His Holiness Pope John Paul II had confirmed this latest text of "The Rule and Life of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi." (cfr. Pazzelli, R. ... Commentario pp.43-53; Morelli,R.A., La Nueva Regla ... en Seleciones de Franciscanismo, n. 37, 1984. pp.31-38.

B. THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE ITALIAN
CONGREGATION OF THE THIRD ORDER REGULAR

Until 1638, the Friars of the Third Order Regular Congregation of Italy did not have their own Constitutions separate from the Rule.

1. The Urbanite Constitutions of 1639

These were drawn up at the General Chapter held at Rome in 1638 with the Cardinal Protector Francesco Barberini presiding. They were approved by Pope Urban VIII on July 8, 1639 although they were not printed until 1648. (cfr. Pazzelli, R., pp. 189-191).

2. The Clementine Constitutions of 1734

By the end of the century the internal and external conditions had so changed that a new adaptation of our legislation was needed. The General Chapter of 1725 began the revision of the Urbanite Constitutions. This revised text of the Constitutions was approved by Pope Clement XII on January 26, 1734.

3 . The Constitutions of Pius XI of 1929

In the Chapter of 1920, a revised text of the Constitutions was presented but was not approved. In the General Chapter of 1926 another text, adjusted to the requirements of the new Code of Canon Law (1917), was edited. The text was approved by the Sacred Congregation of Religious on March 7, 1929. This text was updated during the term of the Minister General, Fr. John Parisi (1936-1947).

4. The Constitutions of the Special Chapter of 1969

An Extraordinary General Chapter was held at Sts. Cosmas and Damian, Rome from January 2 - March 6, 1969 to update the Constitutions in the light of Vatican II. This text was approved "ad experimentum" on April 30, 1969.

In the years following the promulgation of the new Rule by Pope John Paul II in 1982, an International Commission was appointed to edit a complete revision of the Constitutions.

Editor's note: This new revision of the Constitutions and also a text of the General Statutes were approved at the General Chapter of 1989. These texts were approved by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life on Feb. 2, 1991.

III.

THE NATURE AND ORGANIZATION
OF THE TERTIARIES REGULAR
OF ST. FRANCIS OF PENANCE

As can easily be deduced from the previous material drawn from history, we are not dealing with an Order which is compact and unified in its organization and, even less is this true of its activities. The "Family" of the Third Order Regular embraces diverse life-styles and apostolates.

Present day styles of life

Presently we find that the congregations which profess the TOR rule comprise the following ways of life:

1. The contemplative life: This way of life is lived in monasteries or hermitages by nuns of the Third Order Regular.

2. Active or apostolic life: This describes the life-style of congregations dedicated to charitable apostolates such as operating reformatories, hospitals, hospices, schools and colleges, missions, parish work, etc.

Numbered among these congregations, whether male or female, there are those of PONTIFICAL right and those of DIOCESAN right.

Among the male congregations, there are those institutes which are simply LAY (no priest members) and some few CLERICAL institutes (composed of priests and brothers).

Statistics

The Monasteries of TOR Cloistered Nuns number approximately 70 in Europe and North America. There are Federations of TOR nuns in Spain and Mexico and three Monasteries in Italy which are associated with the Friars of the Third Order Regular.

There are approximately 18 male TOR congregations, while the number of female congregations which follow the TOR is more than 400 (415 known).

There are nearly 200,000 religious women and 5,000 religious men professing the TOR Rule. It follows then that one cannot speak of a specific, clear and uniform nature for all Congregations of the Franciscan Third Order Regular. One could envision any possible Confederation only in the distant future.

All these institutes of Franciscan Tertiaries Regular, masculine or feminine, form a very broad spiritual family with a great diversity of activities and ways of life; nevertheless, they are united in professing one and the same "Rule of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi. "

PROJECTS TOWARDS A
CONFEDERATION OF THE TOR FAMILY

a. The Interobediential Congresses

At the initiative of the Minister General of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance, Fr. John Boccelia (1947-1965), Interobediential Congresses of the different congregations of TOR friars were held. Their purpose was to come to know one another better and to investigate the possibility of a Confederation. The idea of such a Confederation had been proposed by Pope Benedict XV in his Letter Tertii Ordinis a Poenitentia February 20, 1921 directed to the then Minister General, Fr. Arnaldo Rigo, T.O.R.