The Community of St. Francis (CSF) is a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Anglican religious order Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

founded in 1905, and is the oldest surviving Anglican Franciscan religious community. As First Order sisters, the CSF is an autonomous part of the

Society of St. Francis The Society of Saint Francis (SSF) is an international Franciscan religious order within the Anglican Communion. It is the main recognised Anglican Franciscan order, but there are also other Franciscan orders in the Anglican Communion. Backgrou ...

(First Order brothers), which also includes the

Order of St. Clare The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare (Latin language, Latin: ''Ordo Sanctae Clarae''), originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and also known as the Clarisses or Clarissines, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Or ...

(Second Order sisters), and a Third Order of secular members living as a dispersed community. Living under a Franciscan

Rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pertaining to the structure or behavior internal to a business * School rule, a rule th ...

, the sisters' primary vocation is prayer, study, and work in the context of community life. Some sisters serve as

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s, and others live a solitary life.

History

The community was begun in 1905 by Sr Rosina Eleanor Rice, who left another Anglican religious order, the

Society of the Sisters of Bethany The Society of the Sisters of Bethany (SSB) is an Anglican religious order. The sisters follow the Rule of St Augustine. The Motherhouse, mother house is now the House of Bethany in Southsea. Foundation The community was founded in Clerkenwell, ...

, to found CSF. After a short period in Hull, the sisters moved to

Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...

in East London in 1908, where they supported themselves by working in the parish, caring for the sick and dying, and running a laundry. In the late 1950s their house came under a

compulsory purchase order A compulsory purchase order (CPO; , ) is a legal function in the United Kingdom and Ireland that allows certain bodies to obtain land or property without the consent of the owner. It may be enforced if a proposed development is considered one for ...

, and in 1962 CSF moved to a house in the hamlet of

Compton Durville South Petherton is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, located east of Ilminster and north of Crewkerne. The parish had a population of 3,737 in 2021 and includes the smaller village of Over Stratton and the hamlets of Co ...

, near

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. There they ran a nursing home for elderly women for some years, before changing their ministry to one of hospitality. CSF grew considerably, and new houses were founded in other parts of the country. In 2010 the sisters closed their house at Compton Durville.

Structure

The order is under the leadership of a Minister General, currently Sr Sue Berry CSF, who was elected in 2020. Under the Minister General the Order is divided into provinces, each governed by a Minister Provincial.

CSF European Province

The European Province currently has the following houses of the Order: * St Alphege Clergy House at

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

in south London. * St Matthew's House at

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

in Leicestershire.

CSF American Province

The American Province, established in 1974, is currently located in a single house: * St Francis' House at

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in California.

CSF Korea

The semi-autonomous mission in Korea is not yet large enough to achieve provincial status, and the single convent at Gumi is part of the European Province, and under the authority of the European Minister Provincial.

References

*''Anglican Religious Life 2010-11''. Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2009 *''Franciscan''; issued by the Society of St Francis, Hilfield. (Three issues a year) *''Elizabeth CSF, Corn of Wheat'', Becket Publications, 1981 *''Barrie Williams, The Franciscan Revival in the Anglican Communion'', DLT, 1982

External links

Website for the European ProvinceWebsite for the American ProvinceThe Society of St. FrancisDetails from the Anglican Communion websiteWebsite for Anglican Religious Life
*''https://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/stfrancishome.html'' St Francis Home for Incurables {{Anglican orders Christian organizations established in 1905 Anglican religious orders established in the 20th century 1905 establishments in the United Kingdom