Franciscans of the Holy Cross
Who We Are
We are Franciscan friars, men and women Religious, following in the footsteps of Saint Francis and Saint Clare, our founders. St. Francis founded the Order some 800 years ago in Assisi, Italy. Eventually Clare found St Francis and was enamored by him. She quickly asked to dedicate herself and her blood sister to living the Franciscan life. She founded the Poor Clares (Poor Ladies) shortly after she and St. Francis met.
We are an Ecumenical community, that is, we are Roman Catholic, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians , and others. Building upon our Catholic heritage, we are one of the many Franciscan families in the Church. Because of our ecumenical nature we are not under the authority or protection of any church, including Rome, although we have a great respect for Pope Francis we are not answerable to that authority. We are basically an Ecumenical Catholic Order, independent and free to serve all of God's people without rigid dogmas or an inability to change with the "times"!
We are celibate and single, some married, some in faithful partnerships, others gay and some heterosexual. We consider ourselves advanced in a new era of the Religious Life. We are certainly different yet we see ourselves fitting well into this "new age" world we live in.
"Lone Dwellers"
We find ourselves living alone for the most part, since we do not live in community. Some of us are "hermit like" , that would describe me! Some of us live with another Brother, Sister or spouse. We fend for ourselves financially and find ourselves either retired or some of us working. We are simple vessels seeking God in the gospel, our prayer life and one another. Following St Francis is no easy walk!
We are spread out in several cities or towns in the US and in France. We make an effort to call one another or text whenever we can, ours is a most independent lifestyle, nevertheless, this is how we choose to seek the Lord and His face. When engaged in formal ministry we wear the Franciscan habit, comprised of a tunic, hood and chord. Some of us wear the rosary on the side of the tunic as well. We also wear the "tau" cross over our habits and secular clothing. There is also a new Franciscan Habit shirt that wears below our belt line. I tend to wear this shirt with the "tau cross" at informal settings. (See pic below under "future entries" )
Our Founder and Brother
Jack Ellis Isbell, OFC
Brother Jack is a consecrated Bishop, priest and Franciscan Brother.
Brother Jack founded our community in the early part of 2000 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was a most creative man of God , teacher, leader, and was able to reach out to people with great ease ,serving the community with faith and love. He passed away a few years ago in 2021,with his spouse, Brother Nick and their son John at his side. Brother Jack was blessed to receive special care at the St. Francis Hospice Center, how fitting! , and lived his remaining days there in peace. "Rest in Peace, Brother Jack"
More to come on Bishop Jack in future entries of our website!
" The Cross is our salvation!" from the Rule of Life
"The mystery of the cross is a tale of love!") Br. Richard Rohr, OFM
St Francis had no intention of forming a Religious community, he began as a "lone ranger" type. It was not long before others were touched and inspired by his actions and charismatic spirit. This naturally flowed, well to do men, even priests began to follow Francis. They wanted to be with him and near him until the day he died. Together they formed the "friars minor" or the lesser brothers. It became a gift from God. Brother David Horan, OFM
New Bishop: Nancy - Francis Hinson, OFC
Commited to serving the Franciscans of the Holy Cross, as Bishop , our sister and servant!
When Bishop Jack passed from us into glory he had the insight of selecting a new leader for us. He consecrated Sr. Nancy-Francis Hinson, OFC of Austin , Texas. She has been a loyal leader and companion for our community. We are just getting to know our new bishop and it has been a pleasure discovering many of her talents already! (more info on Bishop Nancy in future entries on our website!)
Brother Patrick is our "webmaster" - a former teaching Brother with the Brothers of the Sacred Heart of the New England Province. He taught English, social studies, philosophy and religious studies on both the high school and college levels. While chaplain at the Maine State Prison, in Thomaston , Me., Br. Patrick taught art to inmates along with his other pastoral duties at the prison. He was ordained a priest in 1984, retired and joined the Franciscans of the Holy Cross in 2015 under the formation of Bishop Jack. He is also a "water color" artist and this medium brings him great joy and an awesome opportunity for his creative leanings.!
Please feel free and open to communicating with him. See the "get in touch" section below. Pax et Bonum! (Peace and all Good!)
Future Email Entries
What you can expect from our new website in the near future!
In future entries you will see more information about our life, including excerpts from our Rule, our Constitution, our Vows and brief biographies of our members. We will meet Br. Nick who was Bishop Jack's partner and his secretary. They were committed to one another for over 40 years, it's a wow from me! Br. Nick is a delightful friar and quite expressive about his life and pretty clear opinions several other topics "to boot"! His picture and biography are forth-coming!
We hope that you will be able to better understand who we are and perhaps even consider becoming a Sister Friar or a Brother Friar! We would love to discern with you a possible vocation with the Franciscans of the Holy Cross!
A vocation is a special gift from the Lord. In the future some of us will share our vocations stories with you.
In the three pictures below beginning on the left, that is a picture of the "tau cross" , Bishop Nancy at her Master of Divinity graduation and the third picture is of two friars dressed in the "habit shirt" I often wear this with the exception that mine is brown but grey is also sharp)
"An Instrument of
Your Peace"
by David Haas
Get in touch
Telephone: +1 207-542-8063
E-mail: shopperone2@gmail.com
Address: 277 Lamplighter Dr, Melbourne, 32934, Florida, United States
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