Gospel to Life and Life to the Gospel
All Catholics are welcome!
Holy Family Fraternity holds monthly gatherings.
Usually we meet the 2nd Saturday of each month
Fr. Kelley Hall, Meeting Room #1 – Door 22 outside number
All Saints Catholic Church, Manassas VA
If you would like to attend,
please email margaret.a.gregory@gmail.com for details.
Come and See! All Catholics are warmly invited to visit us to learn about Franciscan Spirituality and the Third Order Franciscan — Secular vocation.
Are you drawn to live in a closer relationship with Jesus?
You may have a calling to follow the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi to live the gospel through the Secular Franciscan Order/Third Order. Members of Holy Family Fraternity OFS are parishioners — just like you, who seek to live their faith with their families, in their jobs, wherever they go; and enjoy the peace that St. Francis taught and lived. If you are interested in learning more about the Secular Franciscan Order, please visit the Become A Franciscan page on this website.
Inquiry is open to all Catholics, 18 years or older. Candidates must be practicing Catholics faithful to the teachings of the Church and loyal to the Apostolic See. The Secular Franciscan Order is the Third Order of the Franciscan Family. Holy Family Fraternity serves the Manassas, Gainesville, Warrenton, and Centreville areas. It is in the St. Margaret of Cortona Region (Virginia, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, and eastern Pennsylvania), of the National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order-USA. We belong to the worldwide CIOFS International Fraternity of Secular Franciscans.
World Wide Order:
Third Order Franciscans
The Secular Franciscan Order (Latin: Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis, postnominal abbreviation O.F.S.; also called the Third Order Secular) is a community of Catholic men and women in the world who seek to pattern their lives after Jesus in the spirit of Francis of Assisi. Secular Franciscans are tertiaries, or members of the Third Order of Saint Francis founded by Francis of Assisi 800 years ago.
Originally known as the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, the Order is open to any Catholic not bound by religious vows to another religious order and is made up of both the laity (male and female non-clergy) and secular clergy (deacons, priests, and bishops). Although Secular Franciscans make a public profession and are consecrated, they are not bound by public vows as are religious living in community. The Third Order Regular (TOR), which grew out of the Third Order Secular, do make religious vows and live in community.
St. Francis of Assisi founded three orders:
Franciscan First Order (Friars Minor OFM, Friars Minor Capuchin OFM-Cap, Friars Minor Conventual OFM-Con).
Franciscan Second Order (Nuns: Poor Clares, Little Sisters of Francis, and many Franciscan Sisters).
Franciscan Third Order: Franciscans Secular, and Franciscan Third Order Regular (TOR) religious order. Because the Third Order belongs to the spiritual family of the Franciscans, the Holy See has entrusted its pastoral care and spiritual assistance to the Franciscan First Order and TOR.