Introduction
St. Francis of Assisi was the first person in the West to outline a mission to non-Christians in a religious rule of life. In chapter 16 of the Earlier Rule, Francis lays out ways in which a friar can live among non-Christians. Francis has great concern that his brothers hold to their vocation as minors and lesser ones and remain "subject to every human creature for God's sake."[1] 'Minority' or 'Minoritas' in the Latin, is a rich Franciscan spirituality closely related to the concepts of poverty and humility. It has the quality of "littleness" or being "lesser." It is also how Francis chooses to identify his order (frateres minores, lesser brothers) and how Francis expects his brothers to act. Therefore, minority is both spirituality and praxis; a mentality where the friar gives all good things back to God,[2] and is moved to "follow the footprints of Christ's Humility"[3] in serving the minors of his day.
In his meeting with the Sultan, Francis exhibits an attitude of Franciscan minority and wishes all his brothers to follow suit. After examining some of the early sources, particularly the writings of Francis and his early biographers, I will show how the renewal of the order of friars minor after Vatican II embraces the early tradition of minority as a model for Christian mission. I hope to demonstrate how living a life of Franciscan minority is not just for consecrated religious on foreign mission. Minority can be a vital practice for all Christians still trying to navigate our changing times.
Minority: 'We were simple and subject to all"
In Thomas of Celano's second biography of Francis of Assisi, he recounts an exchange between Francis and the Cardinal Protector of the order. Cardinal Ugolino - later to be Pope Gregory IX - asks Francis why his best brothers don't become bishops and prelates. Francis' response is a bold defense of the core vocation of the friars. He says,
My Lord, my brothers are called 'lesser' precisely so they will not presume to become 'greater.' They have been called this to teach them to stay down to earth, and to follow the footprints of Christ's humility [...] If you want them to bear fruit in the church of God, keep them in the status in which they were called and hold them to it."[4]
Francis' words to the Lord of Ostia are striking and sum up his desire not just in mission, but in life; He and the friars desired to follow Christ literally by being 'lesser.' Leading a life of humility and considering oneself least among all people is how the friars are to bear fruit within the Church and throughout the world. As stated above, Francis defines his brotherhood by 'minority' in the "rule and life of the friars minor." One of the first accounts we have of the early fraternity is a letter written in 1216 by Jacques de Vitry where he recounts his relief at seeing a group of "Lesser Brothers and Lesser Sisters."[5] Francis also uses terms such as "lesser" or "least" to identify himself in his own writings such as his Testament where he describes himself as "Little brother Francis, your servant"[6] or in his Letter to the Custodians where he's described as "The least of the servants of God."[7] The primitive life of the order can be summed up in the concept of fraternal minority.
While minority as an intention of the order and as an identifying characteristic existed prior to the rule, the concept was not invented by Franciscans. Society in Francis' day was divided by levels of importance. In all facets of life - social, political, religious, cultural - people were divided into groups of greater importance, the "maiores," and those of lesser importance, the 'minores.' These terms were used broadly and inconsistently across Europe depending on the region, times, and circumstances. While the maiores represented those who had power over the minores, it was not the case that people designated as minores had no power. as Julio Mico OFM Cap writes, the two terms,
actually described the socio political composition of the two factions engaged in struggling for power. Mairoes and minores indicated a juridical and personal relationship in which one group became lords over, and dominated, the other[...] Yet this did not mean that the maiores represented the lords, and the minores the servants. These were two social groups, each powerful in its own way, and each trying to organize the city according to opposing political ideas.[8]
So, while the term 'minores' would have carried socio-political connotations for the early friars, it's not clear whether Francis is using the term in the way that the minores of Assisi would have used the term who had their own political agenda apart from the order. Instead, what might Francis have had in mind when he employs the term minority to talk about the fraternity?
Francis' and Clare's conversions were both movements out of comfort and into vulnerability. Francis rejects the fine clothes of his father's profession, rejects the status given him by the rising merchant class of Assisi, and offers himself stripped and naked to the service of God the Father. Clare too rejects the privileges and powers of her noble family. Clare is a prime example of someone who fought for the privilege of poverty, which was not something afforded to women who were seen as especially vulnerable and in need of protection during this time period. The life Francis and Clare left behind was the comfort of their social status. They rejected any importance given to them by the commune or other institutions, embracing instead the poverty of the gospel.
One cannot talk about Francis' conversion without referencing his embrace of the leper and his work with sick people. In the opening lines of his Testament, he says that
The Lord gave me, Brother Francis, to begin doing penance in this way. While I was in sin, it seemed very bitter to me to see lepers. And the Lord Himself led me among them and I had mercy on them. And when I left them, what had seemed bitter to me was turned into sweetness of soul and body.[9]
Francis not only rejected his own privilege, but made himself vulnerable by going "among" a vulnerable population on the furthest margins of life. In Francis' time, communities held funerals for those who contracted leprosy before they died. Not only were lepers alienated physically from the community, forced to live in the leprosaria in the surrounding wilderness, but they were considered dead by the greater society - rejected and forgotten. The lepers didn't even qualify to be considered 'minores,' which demonstrates that Francis' understanding of minority is wide and all-encompassing. By identifying himself as a minor, Francis identifies with those people that society neither acknowledges nor respects, the least of his brothers and sisters.
Francis wanted the friars to associate and live with people that society rejects. In Chapter 9 of the Early Rule, brothers "must rejoice when they live among people considered of little value and looked down upon, among the poor and the powerless, the sick and the lepers, and the beggars by the wayside."[10] In living among the marginalized, the friars share all they have - their whole life - with the people, and are to show no prejudice against anyone. Chapter 7 dictates that "Whoever comes to them, friend or foe, thief or robber, let him be received with kindness." Therefore, Francis' conception of 'minority' was a radical openness to all and an identification with the marginalized groups of his day. His desire to be least permeates Francis' writings and will be an important asset in his encounter with Sultan Melek-el-Kamel during the fifth crusade.
Minority in Mission
As stated in the introduction, Francis is the first to include mission to non-Christians as an aspect of his rule and life. Chapter 16 of the Earlier Rule puts forth two ways that a friar can live spirituality among non-Christians.
"One way is not to engage in arguments or disputes but to be subject to every human creature for God's sake and to acknowledge that they are Christians. The other way is to announce the Word of God, when they see it pleases the Lord…[11]
The first way of living among non-believers is by the witness of leading a Christian life. An acknowledgment of one's faith need not be an insult to people of different religions so long as the friar remains "subject to every human creature" and does not attempt to attack or debate the beliefs of the other. Francis begins this program for mission in a spirit of minority. The second way to live among non-believers is to preach explicit faith, but only after the friar discerns whether such preaching would please God.
The prevailing crusader mentality at the time, which insisted on the domination and conversion of a people, stands in stark contrast to Francis' non-combative approach to mission. Francis is of course interested in bringing people the good news so that "they may believe in the almighty God," as he states in chapter 16 of the Earlier Rule. But conversion cannot happen at the expense of minority. Minority is Franciscan conversion. For instance, even for those who preach explicit faith, minority is a non-negotiable principle of preaching. In chapter 17 of the Earlier Rule, Francis stresses the need to first preach by one's deeds, to humble oneself in everything, and not to make any ministry or office of preaching one's own.
In mission, the friars who had the most success with preaching to the Muslims were those friars who took Chapter 16 of the Early Rule seriously. The friars who attacked and insulted the prophet Mohammad, instead of refraining from debate and embracing minority, were the friars driven out of various Muslim cities and prohibited from preaching there again. Jacques de Vitry notes that,
"The Saracens [Muslims] gladly listened to the Friars Minor preach as long as they explained faith in Christ and the doctrine of the gospel; but as soon as their preaching attacked Mohammed and openly condemned him as a liar and traitor, then these ungodly men heaped blows upon them and chased them from their cities."[12]
Francis himself provides an exemplary witness to his own model of mission when he encounters Sultan Melek-el-Kamel in Damietta, Egypt in 1219. Based on many of the accounts of this event such as Jacques de Vitry, Celano, and Bonaventure, Francis initially travels to Egypt with the intention to be martyred. This would have been a common motivation for many religious of Francis' day to go among people of different religions. However, if Francis' sole motivation was martyrdom, we could safely call his missionary endeavors a failure. Indeed, Francis does not achieve martyrdom nor does he convert the Sultan or any Muslims in the camp that we know of. The sources tell us that Francis crossed the battle lines into enemy territory of his own free will. He arrived in the Sultan's camp declaring simply that he was a Christian. He did not come as an envoy on behalf of the Church, nor as a warring crusader.
Much could be said about this encounter that cannot be said here. However, a few points deserve to be highlighted. First is the sense of mutual respect and care shared between the Sultan and the friar. Based on the testimony about Franciscan missionaries by Jacques de Vitry, we can assume Francis did not spend his time attacking Mohammad or the tenets of Islam. If he had, it would seem unlikely that the Sultan would have tolerated him for so long. Jacques de Vitry says that Francis "preached the faith of Jesus Christ to him,” but considers the trip a failure because no one was converted. Another chronicler, Jordan of Giano, writes an account of the event some decades later, but participated in the encounter first hand. He highlights not only the Sultan's tolerance for Francis, but his hospitality and care.
So [Francis] was led into [the Sultan's] presence and was received by him with much honor and was humanely cared for in his illness. And when he decided to return, because he could do nothing there, the Sultan had him accompanied by an armed escort to the Christian army which was then besieging Damietta.[13]
In this account, the Sultan is portrayed as the one who is caring for Francis. Even in the midst of a siege, the Sultan is characterized as tending to Francis' illnesses and providing him with protection to the enemy's camp. Whatever the Sultan's feelings were about his attackers, it is clear the Sultan deemed it necessary to protect and care for the little brother Francis. Despite the conflict around them, Francis and Sultan Melek-el-Kamel demonstrated mutual care and hospitality toward one another. This peaceful encounter would not have been possible without the spirit of minority that so clearly held this meeting together. Jordan of Giano admits that there is something about this encounter that transcended the times they were living. The perceived failure of the mission can only be justified because the mission "had been sent before its time, and since the time for each thing is written in heaven."
Franciscan Mission Today: "Our Entire Fraternity is Missionary"
After the Second Vatican Council, religious orders and congregations were asked to go back to the writings and sources of their founders and foundresses so that communities could experience their charism anew and reconnect with the original mission of their shared life. For the first time, many of the texts cited above were translated into vernacular languages. Following the council, Friars were reading words of St. Francis that in some cases they never knew existed. In 1985, The Order of Friars Minor held a General Chapter in Assisi where the friars drafted new General Constitutions and Statutes. During this time of renewal, the order reconnected with its roots as a missionary order. Echoing the words of Ad Gentes on the missionary nature of the Church, Article 116 of the General Constitutions reads
"Our entire fraternity is missionary and shares in the mission of the Church, following the example of St, Francis and the desire he expressed in the Rule. Each friar, therefore, conscious of his own responsibility, is to play his part in missionary work."[14]
Chapter five of the General Constitutions is titled "God has sent you into the entire world for this reason," and outlines a program for Franciscan mission that is grounded in a spirituality of minority. First, the friar sets "aside any kind of proselytizing, they are to expect nothing from their listeners except what the Lord shall have given them"(104). The friar starts by acknowledging that no good thing can be attributed to any work the friar did, but must be attributed back to God. Friars are to expect nothing from people, including conversion. Francis demands a more radical love where a friar loves all people "without wishing they be better Christians."[15] A love that is burdened by demands and conditions is not love befitting minority.
The Constitutions frequently reference the priority of conscience and the dignity of individuals in any kind of inter-religious or secular exchange. Friars must "strive to listen reverently to others with unfeigned charity" and "Be ready to enter into dialogue with everyone." This openness enables friars to connect with a wide range of people, cultures, and religions. This exposure to a diversity of perspective inspires awe in the friar at the greatness of God and God's creation. Even when "announcing the Gospel, the friars are to work with patience and humility and show a great reverence for the consciences of all." (104)
Minority is not just a passive mentality where the friar is forced into a mindset of low self-esteem. As we've already seen, Francis' minority was an active principle which called Francis and others out of their comfort zone and into vulnerable situations. In doing so, "the friars are to devote themselves to establishing a society of justice, liberation and peace in the Risen Christ."(96) Friars must listen to the poor because they are the friars' teachers. "In order that the Church may always be seen more and more as the sacrament of salvation for our time," the friars are to live amongst the poor and even in secular spaces which are to be considered privileged places of evangelization. (87) The friar must give "preference to the marginalized." (97) And in a spirit of fraternal fellowship, the friars are to work not just to safeguard human dignity, but increase it.
In all this work the friars are to accept no privileges and power. There can be no superiority about a friars' work or mission. Evangelizing cannot be done at the expense of minority. That is why the Constitutions reiterate the words of Francis in the second life of Celano. "The friars are not to seek or accept privileges for themselves or their fraternities, except that of minority. As Saint Francis pointed out, the friars bear fruit in the Church of God if, as minors, they remain in the status proper to their vocation."(91) Minority is the only privilege of the friar, the privilege of being lesser and least, and it is from minority that his life and mission must flow.
The practice of minority: Passive and Active
Minority as Spirituality
Franciscan minority is a spirituality rooted in an understanding of the goodness of God. Francis frequently uses 'good,' 'all good,' 'most good,' and other variations of a theme when referring to God. Minority is a recognition that God is the source of all the good one does in life. Chapter 2 of the Rule prescribes the type of poor clothing the friars are to wear. While the clothes should be humble, the friars are not supposed to look down upon or judge others for their rich clothes. Instead the friar is to "judge and despise his very self."[16] Minority should not give one a sense of superiority over others. After all, minority means being lesser or least. Therefore, a friar's judgments should be directed at himself always. Minority is a mentality that cultivates a healthy self-criticism and self-knowledge.[17] According to Francis, the only thing one can claim as one's own are one's vices and sins.
"Refer all good to God, and acknowledge that every good is His, and thank Him for everything from whom all good things come[…] for every good is His, He who alone is good[…] and that nothing belongs to us except our vices and sins.[18]
Why is Francis so concerned about attributing all good things to God alone, and not misappropriating the good things that God does through us? It's because this is the very attitude of Jesus who Francis is attempting to imitate literally. It is above all Christ's humility that Francis is trying to emulate by living a life of minority. Paul's Christ hymn found in his second letter to the Philippians is one of the earliest texts written about Jesus. It is also the perfect theological basis for Francis' program of minority as mission.
who, though he existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.[19]
If Jesus, who was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped at, why should Francis claim any good deed as his own. In this passage we see Jesus' poverty as he emptied himself of all divine equality. We see how Jesus humbles himself and how he voluntarily embraces 'minority' by taking the form of a slave and servant, obedient even to human death. Paul exhorts his readers to be of one mind with Christ. Francis clearly sees the friars' life of minority as the emulation of the ideal set by Christ himself.
In this way, minority is the "Spirit of the Lord."[20] To live minority is to attribute all good things to God who alone is good and without whom we can do nothing. Therefore, as a model of mission, minority is a reliance and trust in the work of God. It is only God who evangelizes through the friar which is why the friar is to expect nothing from those whom he preaches to except what God gives them. God is ultimately in control, not the friar.
Minority as Service
Any discussion of Franciscan minority would be incomplete without addressing work and service. Minority is understood as a spiritual practice whereby the friar considers himself least and lesser. Such a mentality should lead to self-criticism since judgment of others is avoided and judgment of oneself is preferred. However, the friar need not wallow in self-pity and low self-esteem. Minority should lead a friar to move beyond oneself, after the example of Francis and Clare who moved outside of their privilege to work for the betterment of the marginalized.
The active principle of minority is service. In mission, minority shouldn't make one stagnant, but should move people to perform good works for those they live among. Like the early friars who lived and worked in the leprosaria in the countryside, friars and missionaries today should endeavor to work with and for the people they live among. Chapter 7 of the Early Rule outlines Francis' desire for the friars to work in a spirit of joy and humble minority.
None of the brothers may be treasurers or overseers in any of those places where they are staying to serve or to work among others…Let them, instead be the lesser ones and be subject to all in the same house. Let all the brothers always strive to exert themselves in doing good works… Servants of God, therefore, must always apply themselves to prayer or some good work.[21]
Service is the definition of the work of the friars. Franciscan historian David Flood OFM has done much work elaborating the friars' early program of work. In his book, The Daily Labor of the Early Franciscans, Flood elaborates on the Latin word 'servus' used throughout the Earlier Rule and writings of Francis. He says that the meaning of the word, based on two other Latin words for 'service,' has the connotation of not only doing charitable deeds, but safeguarding the good of the community where one is living.
'Servare' channels the early meaning whence servire comes, as it sees to the socio economic system that supports the community… At work, [the friars] had the common interest of their fellows at heart and not, as in Assisi, their own material and social improvement. In an extended sense, they were watching over the common destiny… sevire/servare offers us an entry into the psychology of the early brothers, given the term's origins... Any work, manual or mental, can never be more than service, seeing as it contributes to a society's care for itself."[22]
Being a "lesser" brother looks like service to the least. In mission, friars must maintain their vocation as minors and consider themselves least and lesser among the people they live with. This mentality is rooted in the idea that only God is good, and that the only thing one can claim as one's own are the stumbling blocks to salvation. This theological context moves the friar to humble service to those he lives among, safeguarding the community’s wellbeing and working to restore and build up people's dignity. Even when a friar discerns to preach explicit faith in Jesus, minority cannot be sacrificed or ignored.
None of this work is done in a spirit of proselytizing or demanding things from others. When embraced fully, the Franciscan concept of minority can be a fruitful spiritual practice for all Christians today interacting with people of other religions. Minority cannot be reduced to some kind of religious relativism nor simply a self-centered asceticism. Instead, it is a practice that flows from a conviction in Christ as the servant-savior; Christ who emptied himself to serve and not to be served. By living minority, people can follow in the footprints of this servant-savior and give an authentic Christian witness to people of other religions. It is my belief that the world will recognize the good things the Christian faith has to offer only when Christians lead a life of minority. In the words of the great 20th C. Franciscan theologian Philotheus Boehner,
"The fact that throughout the centuries the world has always looked upon Saint Francis and his holy sons and daughters as worthy of love and reverence is the answer to the question: Why Minoritas? For the world loved them because they were truly minors. Because they were humble they could change the world they lived in; because they desired to serve, they had power over men. We cannot bring salvation to the world of today if we come in the guise of masters and superiors. The world is waiting for, and will receive only him who comes to serve her, as Christ served her. receive only him who comes to serve her, as Christ served her. For only the servant is the saviour."[23]
[1] Francis of Assisi. Regula non bullata, Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, volume I (New York: New York City Press, 1999), 74. [2] Francis, ER, 75. [3] Thomas of Celano. The Remembrance of the Desire of a Soul, Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, volume II (New York: New York City Press, 2008). [4] Thomas of Celano. 2C, 148 [5] Jacques de Vitry. Habig, Marion A. St. Francis of Assisi: Writings and Early Biographies, English Omnibus of the Sources for the Life of St. Francis, Edited by Marion A. Habig. 1973. [6] Francis of Assisi. Testament, Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, volume I (New York: New York City Press, 1999), 124. [7] Francis of Assisi. Second Letter to the Custodians, Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, volume I (New York: New York City Press, 1999), 60. [8] Julio Mico OFM Cap. The Spirituality of St. Francis: Minority, Greyfriars Review, Vol.9, No. 2, (1991). [9] Francis. Test [10] Francis. ER [11] Francis. ER [12] Jacques De Vitry. Habig. 1973. [13] Jordan of Giano. Hermann, Placid, et al. XIIIth Century Chronicles: Jordan of Giano. Thomas of Eccleston. Salimbene Degli Adami. Franciscan Herald Press, 1961. [14] General Constitutions of the Order of Friars Minor. Provincial Curia, 1969. [15] Francis of Assisi. Letter to a minister, Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, volume I (New York: New York City Press, 1999), 97. [16] Francis of Assisi. The Later Rule, Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, volume I (New York: New York City Press, 1999), 100. [17] Berard Doerger OFM. On Being Lesser Brothers: The Gospel Concepts of Fraternity and Minority in the Rule of 1223, The Chord, Vol. 27, no. 9, 1977. [18] Francis. ER [19] Philippians 2:6-11, New Revised Standard Version [20] Francis. ER [21] Francis. ER [22] David Flood. The Daily Labor of the Early Franciscans. Franciscan Institute, St. Bonaventure University, 2010. [23] Philotheus Boehner OFM. The Meaning of Minoritas, The Chord, vol. 5, no. 12, 1955.
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