PAX ET BONUM!
PEACE AND GOODNESS!
“The Institute of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi is a Franciscan Missionary Religious Congregation of Pontifical right, whose members, living in fraternity in adherence to the same charism, by listening obediently to the Spirit, strive for the perfection of charity through the profession of the evangelical counsels of public vows and live fraternal life in community; by intimately combining contemplation with apostolic action, they live for the edification of the Church and for the welfare of humanity according to the signs of times.” (SFMA Const. 1)
Founded in 1702 by Father Joseph Anthony Marcheselli (1676 – 1742) and Angela Maria del Giglio (1658 – 1736), in Assisi Italy
For 200 years the sisters ministered only in Assisi
The Institute of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi (del Giglio) is a Franciscan and missionary Institute that came to birth in Assisi, Italy in 1702. It was founded by a Friar Minor Conventual, Father Joseph Anthony Marcheselli (1676 – 1742), together with a Franciscan Tertiary, Angela Maria del Giglio (1658 – 1736), whose family name the Institute used until the General Chapter of 1977.
The Founder proposed a form of evangelical life according to the mind of St. Francis, inserted in the rich tradition of the Franciscan Penitents, according to the Rule of the Third Order of St. Francis: interpreted, explained and compiled by the Founder himself in the Instructions.
The Foundress welcomed Fr. Marcheselli’s proposal of starting a community of Tertiaries who desired to seek God alone and to maintain their hearts as living temples of the Holy Spirit.
The project of the two Founders was that of returning, not only, to the origins of the Franciscan life, but even to the origins of the primitive Church. The first community known as the Piccola Adunanza (Small Gathering) or the Pious House, assumed Franciscan-Evangelical values right from the beginning, as a way of moving towards holiness, in following the poor and crucified Christ.
The institute spread across the globe, taking root in Zambia in 1960, Kenya in 1990, and Malawi in 2021. Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia are part of the region that has come to be known as St. Francis Province.
Today, in continuity with our origins, the sisters follow together the path to holiness: in fraternity and in poverty, in penance and conversion, in continuous prayer and in the exercise of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, at the service of the poor.
They commit themselves to accomplish every service in the spirit of minority, simplicity and Franciscan joy. Lastly, the sisters welcome with deep devotion and commitment, the written intention of the Founder, which they consider as a spiritual Testament: Yearn always to become holy.
It is not pride to want that, which Jesus Christ desires and wishes; that we become as holy as his heavenly Father.
“The Purpose of this house is for those who desire God alone.” -Father Joseph Anthony Marcheselli OFM Conv.-
ASSISANITY
Assisanity expresses the values of our first community in Assisi: it recalls the root of our specific identity. It binds us to a radically evangelical Franciscanism, the foundation and spiritual heritage for our life. Assisanity moves us to be bearers of the spirit of Assisi; the spirit of St. Francis that embodies universal fraternity, prayer, peace, reconciliation, the fight against discrimination, and the integrity of creation.
CONVERSION – PENANCE
We live penance in our daily lives through concrete gestures of asceticism of body, soul, and spirit, and we accept with humility our condition of human frailty and the difficulties of life, recognizing in every situation, an opportunity for conversion.
POVERTY – MINORITY
Like the first Christian community, we share all that we are, all that we have, and all that we receive; fairly and according to everyone’s needs.
HOSPITALITY
Following the example of Christ, who welcomed all those he met on his way, we live hospitality with all charity and gratuitousness, in a simple and Franciscan way.
MISSIONARY DIMENSION
We participate in the evangelizing mission of the universal Church for the good of humanity, fostering collaboration with all, especially with other religious congregations. The common call to mission is expressed both in mission, in one’s country, and in leaving one’s own country to go to distant places.
FRATERNAL LIFE
Fraternal life is a gift from God and a call to love that makes us sharers in the Trinitarian communion. We receive it with gratitude and participate actively in its life and mission to fulfill, in and through our fraternity our vocation to communal holiness.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is a consequence of who we are called to be; holy and with the special grace (Charism) which is ‘conformity to Christ, poor and crucified’. Therefore, we the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi are called to live with perfection what the Spirit has given the church through St. Francis; minority, love of the cross, poverty, and a desire to perfectly live the gospel of Christ.
We are also called, by intimately combining contemplation and apostolic action, to live for the edification of the church and the welfare of humanity, especially with those in the peripherals of our society in conformity to Christ, poor and Crucified.
