What does it mean to be a member of the Third Order of the Society of Saint Francis?
The Third Order is an "Order" within the Franciscan Family. It comprises people who find the life of Saint Francis attractive, and feel a call or vocation to live by the principles he lived by.
We are a dispersed community of women and men, some married, some single, living in our own homes and doing our own jobs. We are a community in that we pray for each other, we meet when we are able, and we encourage one another in living and witnessing to the Christian life. We are a community in that we share the greater calling follow Jesus in the way of Francis.
While being an autonomous order in our own right, we are closely linked to the Franciscan Brothers and Sisters of the First Order and Second Orders. In the Anglican Church, members of the Third Order are known as Tertiaries.
In trying to become the persons we were created to be we each keep a Rule of Life, tailored to individual needs, which contains the following main elements:
More information on the rule of life
Tertiaries in Aotearoa Booklet