St. Clare Fraternity:

A place to call home for Secular Franciscans for 79 years

A retired teacher. A home-health nurse. A grocery store cashier. A county administrator. A secretary. A van driver. A management consultant. A volunteer to the elderly. A member of the Omaha Symphony. A corporate trainer. A nursing home resident. A member of the U.S. Postal Service. A college professor. A homebound senior citizen.

Some are married; some single. Some are grandparents; some, single parents. Some have PhDs; some, GEDs. All are practicing Catholics, 18 and older, who have answered God’s call to live their lives according to the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order.

Over 30 professed call St. Clare Fraternity of Omaha their Franciscan “home.” Meeting on the third Sunday of the month at New Cassel Retirement Center in Omaha, they continue their lifelong formation as followers of Sts. Francis and Clare.

With the guidance of their spiritual assistant Sr. Theresina of Jesus Santiago, OSC, they grow in their Franciscan-Clarian spirituality. They share the challenges and successes of living the SFO Rule in their homes, schools, and workplaces as they companion family members and friends, neighbors and strangers on their journeys.

They pray together. They eat together. They laugh together. They celebrate one another’s joys. They grieve one another’s losses. They breathe hope into one another’s lives.

Each fall the fraternity gathers for a weekend retreat. All of Nebraska’s SFOs are invited. This year Fr. John Sullivan, OFM, will celebrate the Transitus of St. Francis’ death on Oct. 3. The next day, the feast of St. Francis, he will challenge retreatants to intentionally live the Franciscan charism of fraternitas—being brothers and sisters to Brother Sun and Sister Moon as well as to Brother Bob and Sister Sue.

In addition to an apostolate of service to the Poor Clares of Omaha, the fraternity has financed the construction of home in India for a family of four. Each month the fraternity contributes to the care of this family as well as to the poor closer to home.

Canonically established in 1929, St. Clare Fraternity’s history is intertwined with the stories of Omaha’s Poor Clares and the friars of the Sacred Heart Province (St. Louis, MO) of the Order of Friars Minor.

In the late 1800s when Omaha was a frontier town and Nebraska just a territory, the friars held numerous church missions. These missionaries invited anyone interested to join what was then called Third Order of St. Francis. Understandably, the formation process was very minimal.

Today becoming a Secular Franciscan takes nearly two and a half years. The process begins when aspirants “comes and sees” St. Clare Fraternity in action. They become acquainted with fraternity members. And, the fraternity introduces them to the lives Sts. Francis and Clare.

After about three months, aspirants expressing interest may move into the Inquiry program. For a minimum of six months, Inquirers learn more about living their lives as lay Franciscans in 21^st Century.

The next step, admission into Candidacy, begins a minimum of 18 months of study, prayer, discernment, and greater participation in the fraternity’s activities and ministries.

After more than 2 years of Initial Formation, the Candidate may ask to be professed as a Secular Franciscan. Profession is made during a public Mass. The commitment is simple: To live the rest of one’s life according to the SFO Rule, moving from “gospel to life and from life to the gospel.”

Profession is not an end. Profession is not a graduation. Profession is not a finish line. Instead, profession marks the beginning of a lifelong walk in the company of not only St. Clare Fraternity’s brothers and sisters, but also all Secular Franciscans across Nebraska, the United States, and around the globe.

To be a Secular Franciscan is to be an integral member of Francis and Clare’s family of First Order friars, Second Order Poor Clares, and Third Order Regular vowed religious.

For more information, please call St. Clare Fraternity’s minister, Rosemary Travis (402-3722) or its formation director, Fritzi Fry (558-9682).