Defragmenting Franciscanism: Collaboration in a Post Ite vos Era

by Edward Foley

The year 1517 is recognized by most Christians as one that inaugurated the Protestant Reformation and led to unparalleled divisions in Western Christianity. For Franciscans, 1517 was also a year of division. It was that year that Pope Leo X issued his papal bull Ite Vos that officially divided the “first order” Franciscans into Conventuals and Observants (the Capuchins were founded roughly a decade later).In recent years, motivated by multiple factors, First Order Franciscans along with friars from other Franciscan families, have increasingly sought to collaborate in global initiatives and local ventures.Catholic Theological Union in Chicago is one venue in which Franciscans in the United States have collaborated, especially around issues of ministerial training and formation. In 2017 and 2018 two distinctive events brought together representatives from various Franciscan families for shared study and reflection. These essays, collected from the presentations that punctuated those two convenings, are brought together in this volume as both testimony to and impetus for the ongoing collaboration of the followers of Francis and Clare, affirming their common charism and commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ they are professed to live.

139 pages, Paperback

Published October 19, 2019