The Cistercians wanted to stay poor, not like the Cluniacs and the Benedictine orders where the monks turned into rich followers of Jesus Christ. In a way it succeeded, but the Cistercians still controlled large buildings and areas, worth a lot of money. In the start of the 13th century, new kinds of monastic orders arose, the mendicant orders. These orders vowed to total, radical poverty, both for themselves and for the order they were in. This meant that the monks had to beg to receive their daily bread. The pioneer which we know best as a mendicant is Francis of Assisi.
The origin of the Franciscans
Franciscans - Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi was born in the Italian city of Assisi in 1182 and he was the son of a rich businessman. After losing many friends in a battle/war, while he himself survived, he started living as a hermit in his hometown. He helped the sick and the poor, rebuilt church buildings in bad condition and what he needed to survive he got through begging. After hearing a sermon on Matthew 10:7-9 he understood that his calling was to preach the gospel, to take care of the poor and the sick, and to remain poor.
Francis of Assisi soon got followers, but he needed an approval from the pope to be allowed to continue his activity. The pope wanted Francis to join an already accepted monastic order, but Francis did not want to lock himself in an already existing community. He wanted to reach the world with the Christian message. Finally, Pope Innocent III accepted Francis’ request and the Franciscans, often named Order of Friars Minor, became reality. Francis later started two other monastic orders. First, he founded a female monastic order, the Second Order of St. Francis, often known as the Poor Clares and after that he founded the Third Order. The goal of the Third Order was to live out the Christian gospel perfectly in the world. The members were “normal”, secular people, with an upright wish to live a disciplined, a kind of monastic life, outside the monastery, in the “real” world.
The Franciscans in Hungary
The Franciscans founded their first community in Hungary 1224, in Esztergom. Bela IV appreciated the work of the Franciscans so much, that he made sure to get buried in the monastery in Esztergom himself. He also supported the Franciscans work preaching and converting heretics like Bogomils in Hungary. Just like the other orders the Franciscans experience decline in their number in the 14th century, but they were more fortunate than the other monastic orders during the Ottoman rule, as they were allowed to keep up their pastoral work.
Franciscans - Church at Ferenciek Square
Like the other monastic orders the Franciscans suffered during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, though some monks made big sacrifices to keep on living acording to their monastic ideals.
Before the First World War the Franciscans consisted of five provinces in Hungary, though after the peace treaty of Trianon only two of these remained. During communism several monks suffered and were killed for their faith and life as monks, and 18 monastic communities were closed down. Some Franciscan schools were allowed to operate during communism.
Today you can see a Franciscan church at the Ferenciek Tere (Franciscan square) in Budapest.