Franciscan Education
What A Franciscan Education Means
160 Years of Service in Brooklyn
Around the year 1224, St. Francis of Assisi gave permission to a young and learned Brother, St. Anthony of Padua, to teach theology to the Brothers “as long as such study did not extinguish the spirit of prayer and devotion.” In the century that followed, a “Franciscan School” of scholars developed a Christ-centered theology and philosophy based on the life and teachings of St. Francis.
The outstanding Franciscan scholars of that period are St. Bonaventure and Blessed John Duns Scotus. They followed the intentions of St. Francis that learning be placed at the service of living as Christ did; in other words, the quest for knowledge was not to be an end in itself, but a quest to live more authentically within oneself and morally within the world community.
In the early nineteenth century, Franciscan Brothers in
The Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn have been serving the Church in New York for more than 160 years. Learn more about the life and work of the Franciscan Brothers.