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“I HAVE DONE WHAT WAS MINE TO DO; MAY CHRIST TEACH YOU WHAT YOU ARE TO DO”

Our History

In the Franciscan movement, the First Order is for men living in solemn vows. There are three branches: the Friars Minor, the Capuchins, and the Conventuals. The Second Order, commonly called the Poor Clares, is for women who have cloistered life of contemplation in solemn vows.

Besides the Order of Friars Minor (The First Order) and the Order of Poor Clares (The Second Order), St. Francis of Assisi founded for his lay followers the THIRD ORDER, some of the members of which were initially known as the Penitents of Assisi. These included both Regulars (that is, those who lived according to the Regula, the Rule) and Seculars. As for their guidance, they received a norm of life in the year 1210 from Francis and the Rule approved by Pope Honorius III in 1221. The Regulars have been living a regular or religious life characterized by the observance of the vows, profession of the Third Rule, and common living in hermitages or in communities dedicated to the works of mercy. The Church recognized the penitents of Italy as Franciscans and gave them a revised Rule of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance in 1289 in the Bull, Supra Montem. Over the centuries, Franciscan Congegations of the Third Order sprang up in many countries of Europe independently of one another. In 1447, Pope Nicholas V united some sixty Italian fraternities of male Franciscan penitents in a single Order.

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Years of History

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People Served Across the Country

Later in 1448, the first General Chapter of the Order was held and Fr. Bartolomeo Bonamati of Perugia was elected the first Minister General. Thus began the Third Order Regular of St. Francis which established in 1512 its Generalate at the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damien in Rome where it continue to this day. 
An important step in the process of growth was the establishment of a Province in the USA in 1910.This new Province named after the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus owes its origin to a community of Brothers who hailed originally from Ireland. In 1936, realizing the tremendous importance of foreign missions in the life of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis, Most Rev. John Parisi, Minister General, petitioned the Congregation of the Propagation of Faith for a mission territory. Then he wrote an article in 1937 in Analecta, the domestic publication of the Order, seeking volunteers for the proposed foreign mission. Very Rev. Fr. Eugene George, Minister Provincial of the Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, with its headquarters at Loretto, Pennsylvania, USA, responded generously to the call of Father General. In 1938, a part of Patna Mission in India among the Santalslying along the Ganges River was assigned to the Order for its missionary endeavors. Upon intimation from the Minister General, Father Provincial sent out a letter to all the friars of the Province asking for volunteers. A large number of friars expressed their willingness to take up the challenge. From among them four friars were finally chosen: Fr. William Schreder, Fr. Gabriel Stephen, Fr. Aquinas Lieb and Bro. Ivan Manganello. Father Provincial accompanied the first band of missionaries and they landed on the Indian soil at Mumbai on 6th December, 1938. The same day they boarded the train, arriving on 8th December in Patna, the capital of Bihar.They celebrated their first Eucharistic Liturgy in the new country on the same day, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patroness of the Seraphic Order. This laid the foundation of the Franciscan TOR Mission in India. Later, Bhagalpur in Bihar became the headquarters of the TOR Mission in India. With the increasing number of friars working in the mission it became necessary to establish a commissariat (region) for the better coordination and management of the activities of the missionaries.Thus, in 1945 an Indian commissariat dependent on the Sacred Heart Province was erected with Fr. Patrick Boland as the first Commissary Provincial. In 1956, Bhagalpur was cut off from the diocese of Patna and a Prefecture Apostolic was established by the Holy See. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Urban McGarry, TOR, Commissary Provincial, was appointed the Prefect Apostolic. Later, in 1965 when the Diocese of Bhagalpur was erected Rt. Rev. Msgr. Urban McGarry, TOR, was appointed its first bishop.The fraternity in India was growing rapidly and it evinced signs of great potentiality for expansion. In 1971, the Indian Commissariat was raised to the status of a Province with all the rights and privileges. The new Province, as per choice of its members, was named after St. Thomas, the Apostle of India. A new chapter thus opened in the history of the Order and that of the brotherhood in India. In the first Provincial Chapter of the new Province which was held at Bhagalpur in October 1972, Fr. Anthony Ramanattu, TOR, was elected the first Provincial of St. Thomas Province, Bhagalpur. In the year 1996, the Provincial Chapter of the Province of St. Thomas made a resolution to establish the Commissariate of St. Louis in South India.The Commissariate was established in Bangalore and appointed Fr. Jose Thottunkal as the first Commissary Minister. Seven Commissary Ministers served the Commissariate during 1997-2014: Fr. Jose Thottunkal (1997-2000), Fr. Varghese Erattamundackal (2001-2002), Fr. Louis Kakanatt (2002-2004), Fr. Jose Chakalakal (2004-2006), Fr. Varghese Erattamundackal (2006-2008), Fr. Pius Puthumana (2008-2012) and Fr. Wilson Vattaparampil (2012-2014).  On 8th December, 2014, the Commissariate was raised to the status of a Vice Province, with Very Rev. Fr. Thomas Chittookalam as its first Provincial.At the time of inauguration, the new Vice Province had a membership of 49 solemn professed friars besides a good number of seminarians. It had 14 friaries located in the four states of South India. In December 2017, the Vice Province was raised to the status of a full pledged Province. Very Rev. Father Augustine Kulapuram was elected the Minister Provincial in the same year.  Currently Very Rev. Fr. Thomas Palakudiyil, TOR, is serving the Province as its Minister Provincial. The Province now has a membership of 60 solemn professed friars.