Franciscans

The Franciscans are the Catholic religious orders that follow the rule of Francis of Assisi, approved by the papacy between 1209 and 1223, chief among them the Order of Friars Minor. Vowed to poverty and preaching, the friars spread across Europe and became leading missionaries in the Spanish and Portuguese empires. In the Americas and the Philippines they founded missions from Mexico and Florida to California, often building churches and towns among indigenous peoples.