- Community of St. Francis
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Sisters at centenary celebrations, 1905
The Community of St. Francis (CSF) is a Franciscan Anglican religious order of sisters founded in 1905, and is the oldest surviving Anglican Franciscan religious community. It was begun by Sr Rosina Eleanor Rice, who left another Anglican religious order, the Sisters of Bethany, to found CSF. After a short period in Hull, the sisters moved to Dalson in East London in 1908, where they supported themselves by working in the parish, caring for the sick and dying, and running a laundry. In the late 1950s their house came under a compulsory purchase order, and in 1962 CSF moved to a house in the hamlet of Compton Durville, near Yeovil in Somerset. There they ran a nursing home for elderly women for some years, before changing their ministry to one of hospitality. CSF grew considerably, and new houses were founded in other parts of the country. In 2010 the sisters closed their house at Compton Durville. The order is now organised into a European Province, consisting of five houses in England, and a semi-autonomous region in South Korea; and an American Province, consisting of a single house in the United States. The five English houses are in Southwark; Plaistow; Metheringham in Lincolnshire, Birmingham, and Leicester. The American house is located in San Francisco, and was established in 1974.
As First Order sisters, the CSF is an autonomous part of the Society of St. Francis (First Order brothers), which also includes the Order of St. Clare (Second Order sisters), and a Third Order of laypeople. Living under a Franciscan Rule, the sisters' primary vocation is prayer, study, and work in the context of community life. Some sisters serve as priests, and others live a solitary life.
References
- Anglican Religious Life 2010-11. Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2009
- Franciscan; issued by the Society of St Francis, Hilfield. (Three issues a year)
- Elizabeth CSF, Corn of Wheat, Becket Publications, 1981
- Barrie Williams, The Franciscan Revival in the Anglican Communion, DLT, 1982
External links
- Website for the European Province
- Website for the American Province
- The Society of St. Francis
- Details from the Anglican Communion website
- [http://www.orders.anglican.org/arcyb/ Website for Anglican Religious Life}
Active religious orders and communities of the Anglican Communion Brotherhood of the Ascended Christ • Brotherhood of the Epiphany • Brotherhood of St. Gregory • Chama Cha Mariamu Mtakatifu • Chita che Zita Rinoyera • Chita che Zvipo Zve Moto • Christa Sevika Sangha • Community of All Hallows • Community of Christ the King • Community of Jesus' Compassion • Community of Nazareth • Community of Our Lady & Saint John • Community of St. Andrew • Community of St. Clare • Community of St. Denys • Community of St. Francis • Community of St. John Baptist • Community of St. John the Divine • Community of St. John the Evangelist • Community of St. Laurence • Community of St. Mary • Community of St. Mary at the Cross • Community of St. Mary the Virgin • Community of St. Michael & All Angels • Community of St. Paul • Community of St. Peter • Community of the Blessed Lady Mary • Community of the Companions of Jesus the Good Shepherd • Community of the Divine Compassion • Community of the Glorious Ascension • Community of the Good Shepherd • Community of the Holy Cross • Community of the Holy Family • Community of the Holy Spirit • Community of the Holy Transfiguration • Community of the Reparation to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament • Community of the Resurrection • Community of the Sacred Name • Community of the Sacred Passion • Community of the Servants of the Cross • Community of the Servants of the Will of God • Community of the Sisters of Melanesia • Community of the Sisters of the Church • Community of the Sisters of the Love of God • Community of the Transfiguration • Company of Mission Priests • Congregation of the Sisters of the Visitation of our Lady • Daughters of St. Francis • Ewell Monastery • Fikambanan'ny Mpanompovavin l Jesoa Kristy • Korean Franciscan Brotherhood • Little Brothers of Francis • Melanesian Brotherhood • Oratory of the Good Shepherd • Order of Julian of Norwich • Order of St. Anne • Order of St. Anne at Bethany Convent • Order of St. Benedict • Order of St. Helena • Order of the Holy Cross • Order of the Holy Paraclete • Order of the Teachers of the Children of God • Sisterhood of St. John the Divine • Sisterhood of St. Mary, Bangladesh • Sisterhood of the Epiphany • Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity • Sisters of Charity • Sisters of the Good Shepherd • Sisters of the Incarnation • Society of All Saints Sisters of the Poor • Society of Our Lady of the Isles • Society of Our Lady St. Mary • Society of St. Francis • Society of St. John the Divine • Society of St. John the Evangelist • Society of St. Margaret • Society of St. Paul • Society of the Franciscan Servants of Jesus & Mary • Society of the Holy Cross • Society of the Holy Trinity • Society of the Precious Blood • Society of the Sacred Advent • Society of the Sacred Cross • Society of the Sacred Mission • Society of the Sisters of BethanyCategories:- Religious organizations established in 1905
- Anglican religious orders established in the 20th century
- Anglicanism stubs
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