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Secular Francisan Order
Address
, 4 East Court, Goldington Green, Bedford, MK41 0AH
Catholic Priests and People
Anne Simmonds - Minister
Contact
| Correspondence Address | 4 East Court Goldington Green Bedford MK41 0AH |
|---|---|
| Phone | 01234 308 395 |
| Click here to email Secular Francisan Order | |
About Secular Francisan Order
An international order of lay men and women founded by St Francis of Assisi and canonically established in 1221 to help people to live in the Franciscan spirit of detachment from earthly possessions. The rule and life of the Secular Franciscans is this: to observe the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Secular Franciscans should devote themselves especially to the careful reading of the Gospel, going from Gospel to Life and from Life to Gospel.` (OFS Rule, art.41) Our Franciscan MISSION is to repair the church. Our Charism is Fraternity. The brothers and sisters make a life - long commitment to a daily office, regular participation in the sacraments and regular attendance at the monthly community meetings. The Bedford Gospel to Life fraternity supports our parish priests, and the local homeless Day Centre, the John Bradburne leper colony in Zimbabwe, the local SVP and other charities, from our common fund purse. We meet monthly, usually at Holy Cross Church, Goldington Green, Bedford MK41 QDP from 3.15pm, normally on the fourth Sunday of the month.
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
