Franciscans (Order of Friars Minor)
Mainstream Catholic mendicant order founded by Francis of Assisi (1209). One of the largest Catholic religious orders.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — mainstream Catholic mendicant order.
Profile facts
In context
Franciscans operate in Conventual, Capuchin, and Observant branches plus Secular Franciscan Order for laypeople. Mainstream low-control voluntary vows.
Recovery resources
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- INFORM (Information Network on Religious Movements) — LSE-founded UK research-based information service covering new religious movements.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
See the full curated list at /resources.
This profile is in progress — history, deeper BITE evidence and survivor voices are still being added. Contributions welcome via GitHub.
Timeline
- 1209Francis founds the order
Evidence matrix
Structured sources cross-linked to the claims they document. Tiered per the source hierarchy. For free-text citations see the Sources section below.
Sources
- Various order publications search ↗
- Martin Luther in Britain and Anglican Theology — Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion (2017) — https://doi.org/10.1093%2Facrefore%2F9780199340378.013.321 open ↗
- Francis of Assisi: The Life. By Augustine Thompson, O.P. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2013. Pp. xiv, 186. For Further Reading. $14.95 paper. — The Americas (2014) — https://doi.org/10.1353%2Ftam.2014.0136 open ↗
- The Church of San Francisco in Mexico City — The Americas (1950) — https://doi.org/10.2307%2F978514 open ↗
- Between Faith and Science: Franciscan Archaeology in the Service of the Holy Places — Middle Eastern Studies (2012) — https://doi.org/10.1080%2F00263206.2012.653139 open ↗
- Lewis E 253 Manuscript of an evangelist and prebendary of the minor orders at OPenn — http://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0023/html/lewis_e_253.html open ↗
- Lewis E 258 Life of Holy Francis and his companions at OPenn — http://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0023/html/lewis_e_258.html open ↗
- 14 Regulae ordinis fratrum minorum Franciscani etc. at OPenn — http://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0012/html/lcp_ms14.html open ↗
- Greyfriars and Blackfriars — https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003k9dz open ↗
- Franciscans, Religious Order — https://www.britannica.com/topic/Franciscans open ↗
- Saint Francis of Assisi, Italian Saint — https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Francis-of-Assisi open ↗
- Martin Luther in Britain and Anglican Theology — Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion (2017) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1093%2Facrefore%2F9780199340378.013.321 open ↗
- Francis of Assisi: The Life. By Augustine Thompson, O.P. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2013. Pp. xiv, 186. For Further Reading. $14.95 paper. — The Americas (2014) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1353%2Ftam.2014.0136 open ↗
- Las órdenes religiosas y el clero secular en la evangelización del Perú. Proyección de su labor misionera — https://dadun.unav.edu/bitstream/10171/4771/1/M%C2%AA%20BERTA%20PEREZ%20ALVAREZ.pdf open ↗
- La catequesis renovadora de fray Luis Jerónimo de Oré (1554-1630) — https://dadun.unav.edu/bitstream/10171/4821/1/ENRIQUE%20GARCIA%20AHUMADA.pdf open ↗
- Between Faith and Science: Franciscan Archaeology in the Service of the Holy Places — Middle Eastern Studies (2012) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1080%2F00263206.2012.653139 open ↗
- Medieval Sourcebook: The Rule of the Franciscan Order — https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/stfran-rule.asp open ↗
- Witches in Religion — http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/bronze/witches.htm#franciscan open ↗
- Between Faith and Science: Franciscan Archaeology in the Service of the Holy Places — https://doi.org/10.1080/00263206.2012.653139 open ↗
- Francis of Assisi: The Life by Augustine Thompson, O.P. (review) — https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/americas/article/abs/francis-of-assisi-the-life-by-augustine-thompson-op-ithaca-cornell-university-press-2013-pp-xiv-186-for-further-reading-1495-paper/A1DE691BE88FA285A696BA97BC9C1465 open ↗
- La chronique des tribulations franciscaines d'après un manuscrit de la Laurentienne. — Bibliothèque de l'école des chartes (1884) — https://dx.doi.org/10.3406/bec.1884.447254 open ↗
- Grove Art Online — https://doi.org/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T029648 open ↗
- BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHURCH AND FORMER REFORMATI ORDER’S MONASTERY IN WĘGRÓW — https://www.academia.edu/45031021/BRIEF_HISTORY_OF_THE_CHURCH_AND_FORMER_REFORMATI_ORDERS_MONASTERY_IN_W%C4%98GR%C3%93W open ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗ runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Mainstream-comparator lighter.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
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