Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate

Who We Are

Leading into the Third Millennium, the Franciscans of the Immaculate were born as a response to the conciliar decree Perfectae caritatis that invited religious orders to “return to the sources.” It was at the Portiuncula of St. Mary of the Angels that the Seraphic Order put down its “roots” by making the “Cause of the Immaculate” its own. St. Maximilian M. Kolbe , with his “Cities of the Immaculate” constitutes in our time one of the most genuine fruits of that all-Seraphic and all-Marian root. He is the patron saint of our difficult times.

Marian

The Marian dimension is the specific characteristic of our religious family. Our inspirer, St. Maximilian Kolbe, was an apostle of devotion to the Immaculate Conception.

Ecclesial

The following of Christ in the form of St. Francis is authentically and fully realized in the Church, the Body of Christ and the sacrament of salvation for our time.

Fraternal

The Lord gave me brothers.
It was revealed to Francis that in order to live like Jesus, brothers are indispensable. God created us different and unrepeatable, unique.

Easter Message 2025 by Fr. Immacolato M. Acquali, FI – Minister General

«Et dicebant ad invicem quis revolvet nobis lapidem ab ostio monumenti?»(They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”) - Mark 16:3 The Lord's Passover reveals the solidarity of the living God with our condition...

Franciscans

St. Francis is like the root of an ever-blooming tree that produces fruits of holiness. From the beginnings until today, his living and life-giving spirit has moved men and women from all walks of life, nations and cultures to follow in his footsteps. Over the centuries, like branches of a single tree, different experiences of religious life have sprung up according to the sensitivities and needs of the time. They constitute the so-called “Franciscan movement” to which the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate belong in the Church by spirituality and history, vocation and mission, observing the First Rule branded by St. Francis.

The Portiuncula

It is at the Portiuncula of St. Mary of the Angels that the Seraphic Order laid down its “roots” making the “Cause of the Immaculate” its own.
St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, with his “City of the Immaculate” constitutes in our times one of the most genuine fruits of that all-Seraphic and all-Marian root. He is the patron saint of our difficult times.

Kolbian Legacy

The figure of Kolbe and his action is a spiritual legacy that the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate have fully embraced. By the Marian vow of total consecration to the Immaculata they commit themselves to bring Christ the Savior to the world, by example and word, contemplation and action, in imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first missionary of the Gospel.

Come and See

“The Rule and life of the Friars Minor is this: to observe the Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
(RB 1, 1)

Vocations