COMMUNITY of  FRANCISCAN FRIARS of  THE RENEWAL

The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal was founded by eight Friars Minor Capuchin:  Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Fr. Andrew Apostoli, Fr. Glenn Sudano, Fr. Pio Mandato, Br. Robert Stanion, Fr. Stanley Fortuna, Fr. Robert Lombardo, and Fr. Joseph Nolan, and was erected as a Clerical Institute of Diocesan Right on May 28, 1999.  On June 13th, 2016, the memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal was erected as a Clerical Religious Institute of Pontifical Right by His Holiness Pope Francis.

 

Although our founders each had very different gifts and personalities, the Holy Spirit called them together with a particular purpose.  The intention of our founders was simply to respond to the Lord’s call for reform and to live an authentic response to the demands of the Capuchin charism.  Their generous response to the Lord’s call enabled many young men to respond in their footsteps and in the footsteps of our Holy Father St. Francis.  Each Franciscan Friar of the Renewal has been entrusted with a legacy that reaches back through the ages to Christ, the Source of all renewal.

 

From the Afterword of the CFR Constitutions:

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“We pray that these Constitutions will be an authentic guide for us as we seek to observe the Holy Gospel after the manner of Saint Francis and his Rule.  We ask the Lord to bless us in our hope that by persevering in this effort we will achieve the goals of this renewal:  becoming true disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ and contributing effectively to the ongoing renewal of the whole Church he founded.”

 

Please see the blog 'Our Beginning' for more on the founding of our community.