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Secular Franciscan Order - East Anglian Region
Bishops' Conference: Bishops` Conference of England and Wales (Cymru)
Diocese: Diocese of East Anglia
People
Cambridge `Our Lady of the Poor` Fraternity
Ipswich `Blessed John Duns Scotus` Fraternity
Norwich `Pax et Bonum` Fraternity
Bedford `Gospel to Life` Fraternity
Contact
About Secular Franciscan Order - East Anglian Region
Secular Franciscans - are a fraternity of Catholic lay men and women, and diocesan clergy. We know it is impossible to fall out of God`s love. Our brokenness and sin can keep us from growing but we cannot stop God from loving us. The exquisite tenderness of God`s love is revealed in the helplessness of a baby, the defencelessness of a crucified man, and the silence of the consecrated bread and wine on the altar. God approaches us with such humility and leaves Himself open to rejection. With his whole heart St Francis understood that it is the manner of God`s coming to us as Jesus Christ that tells us the extent of his love for us.
At the heart of the Secular Franciscan Order is St Francis` call to lead the Gospel life. Secular Franciscans strive to live the Gospel in our lay state, gaining inspiration from the example and writings of St Francis. We seek to deepen, in the light of faith, the values and choices of life. We strive to lead lives of continuing conversion - through a life of penance, evangelical simple living, and prayer - supported by programmes of formation. Visitors to our meetings can be assured of a warm welcome. Further information about the Secular Franciscans is available on our National Fraternity website
Contacts for local fraternities in the Diocese are:
Cambridge `Our Lady of the Poor` Fraternity - Peter Qualey ofs
Address: 5 Dibbin Close, Weldon, Northamptonshire, NN17 3HZ
Tel: 01536 407354
Email: peter.e.qualey@gmail.com
Ipswich `Blessed John Duns Scotus` Fraternity - David Gleave ofs
Address: 4 Nelson Road, Ipswich, IP4 4DS
Tel: 01473 720668
Email: davidagleave@btinternet.com
Norwich `Pax et Bonum` Fraternity - Brigid Rawlinson ofs
Address: The Elms, Rectory Road, Haddiscoe, Norwich, NR14 6PG.
Tel: 01502 677557
Email: brawlinson@dsl.pipex.com
Contacts for other fraternities in the region are:
Bedford `Gospel to Life` Fraternity - Anne Simmonds ofs
Address: 4 East Court, Goldington Green, Bedford, MK41 0AH
Tel: 01234 308395
Email: annesimmonds39@gmail.com
Part of the Catholic Church - you can find other Catholic Churches, Catholic Schools or Religious Orders/Houses and Chaplaincies nearby above. Or you can use the Find a Church Near Me box above to search for a Church, School etc.
Served From: Secular Franciscan Order - England and Wales
Useful Definitions of the Structures in the Catholic Church
What is a Catholic Bishops' Conference?
An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. ... Individual bishops do not relinquish their immediate authority for the governance of their respective dioceses to the conference (Wikipedia).
What is an Archdiocese?
Dioceses ruled by an archbishop are commonly referred to as archdioceses; most are metropolitan sees, being placed at the head of an ecclesiastical province. A few are suffragans of a metropolitan see or are directly subject to the Holy See.
The term 'archdiocese' is not found in Canon Law, with the terms "diocese" and "episcopal see" being applicable to the area under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of any bishop.[8] If the title of archbishop is granted on personal grounds to a diocesan bishop, his diocese does not thereby become an archdiocese (Wikipedia).
What is a Diocese?
The group of churches that a bishop supervises is known as a diocese. Typically, a diocese is divided into parishes that are each overseen by a priest.
The original dioceses, in ancient Rome, were political rather than religious. Rome was divided into dioceses, each of which was made up of many provinces. After Christianity became the Roman Empire's official religion in the 4th century, the term gradually came to refer to religious districts. The Catholic Church has almost 3,000 dioceses. The Greek root of diocese is dioikesis, "government, administration, or province." (Vocabulary.com).
As of April 2020, in the Catholic Church there are 2,898 regular dioceses: 1 papal see, 649 archdioceses (including 9 patriarchates, 4 major archdioceses, 560 metropolitan archdioceses, 76 single archdioceses) (Wikipedia).
What is the difference between a Diocese and an Archdiocese?
Each diocese is within a Province - a group of Dioceses - the Archdiocese is the main Diocese within that Diocese. The bishop of that Archdiocese is therefore automatically an Archbishop. If a bishop has been made an Archbishop personally is referred to as an Archbishop but it does not make their Diocese an Archdiocese.
What is a Deanery?
A subdivision of a diocese, consisting of a number parishes, over which presides a dean appointed by a bishop. The duty of the dean is to watch over the clergy of the deanery, to see that they fulfill the orders of the bishop, and observe the liturgical and canon laws. He summons the conference of the deanery and presides at it. Periodically he makes a report to the bishop on conditions in the deanery.www.catholicculture.org
What is a Parish?
In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish (Latin: parochia) is a stable community of the faithful within a particular church, whose pastoral care has been entrusted to a parish priest (Latin: parochus), under the authority of the diocesan bishop. It is the lowest ecclesiastical subdivision in the Catholic episcopal polity, and the primary constituent unit of a diocese. In the 1983 Code of Canon Law, parishes are constituted under cc. 515–552, entitled "Parishes, Pastors, and Parochial Vicars." Wikipedia
