Cross, Tau (Franciscan Order)

TAU CROSS (FRANCISCAN ORDER) -  The Tau Cross is most commonly used in reference to the Franciscan Order and Saint Francis of Assisi, who adopted it as his personal coat of arms after hearing Pope Innocent III talk about the Tau symbol. It is now used as a symbol of the Franciscan Order.

Franciscans are people and groups (religious orders) who adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of St Francis of Assisi. The movement originates within the Catholic Church, where it also remains most numerous. However, Franciscan Orders and Franciscan spirituality are also found within other Christian denominations, including Old Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism.

Franciscan, any member of a Christian religious order founded in the early 13th century by St. Francis of Assisi. The members of the order strive to cultivate the ideals of the order’s founder. The Franciscans actually consist of three orders. The First Order comprises priests and lay brothers who have sworn to lead a life of prayer, preaching, and penance. This First Order is divided into three independent branches: the Friars Minor (O.F.M.), the Friars Minor Conventual (O.F.M. Conv.), and the Friars Minor Capuchin (O.F.M. Cap.). The Second Order consists of cloistered nuns who belong to the Order of St. Clare (O.S.C.) and are known as Poor Clares (P.C.). The Third Order consists of religious and lay men and women who try to emulate Saint Francis’ spirit by performing works of teaching, charity, and social service. Strictly speaking, the latter order consists of the Third Order Secular, whose lay members live in the world without vows; and the Third Order Regular, whose members live in religious communities under vow. Congregations of these religious men and women are numerous all over the Roman Catholic world. The Franciscans are the largest religious order in the Roman Catholic church. They have contributed six popes to the church.