Click on the San Damiano Crucifix to learn the meaning, symbolism, history, and theology of the San Damiano Crucifix, the symbol of the Confraternity of Penitents
Original Franciscan "Third Order" -- Confraternity of Penitents
Make Every Day a Path to Holiness
Saints Who Lived the Rule of 1221
 Blessed Peter of Siena (early 1200’s-1289)—Prayerful, widowed comb maker. Exercised works of charity. Accepted humiliations, contrary customers, and toil as penances. Made pilgrimages. Went to daily confession. |  Blessed Thomas of Foligno (1319-1377)—Holy hermit who became an anchorite (walled-in hermit). Left his cell at Holy Spirit’s bidding and preached penance to people of Tuscany. Miracle worker. Experienced visions and ecstasies. |  Blessed Robert of Malatesta (1411-1432)—Devout, noble youth and husband, dedicated to prayer, penance, and works of charity. |
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 Blessed Novelon of Faenza (1200-1280)—Married, dissolute shoemaker who had a conversion when he became deathly ill at the age of twenty-four. Thereafter became generous almsgiver to the poor and sick, did many penances, made several pilgrimages. |  Saint Mary Frances of the Five Wounds (consecrated virgin, 1734-1791) |  Blessed John Pelingotto (1240-1304)—Merchant turned holy hermit. |
 Blessed Jane of Signa (1244-1307)—Devout shepherd who became anchorite (walled-in hermit). Worked miracles. |  Blessed Umiliana Cerchi (1219-1246) –Austere widow who lived as a hermit. Begged for alms for the poor. Experienced ecstasies at prayer. |  Saint Rose of Viterbo (1234-1252)—Virgin preacher against the enemies of the Pope. |
 St. Mary Ann of Jesus of Paredes (vowed religious, 1614-1645) |  Saint Margaret of Cortona (1247-1297) – Flamboyant mistress of young nobleman. Bore him a son. Experienced conversion when her lover was murdered. Mystic. Formed community of women to care for ill. Founded hospital and Confraternity of Our Lady. Subject of gossip but was cleared of charges. |  Blessed Jutta of Thuringia (?-c. 1264)—Noble mother who reared her children to be good Christians. After being widowed, tended lepers, visited and financially supported poor. Became a hermit who prayed for conversion of the Prussians. |
 St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo (priest, founder, 1786-1842) |  Saint Jeanne of Valois (1464-1503)—Queen of France, cofounder with Blessed Gabriel Maria (friar) of the royal order of the Blessed Virgin. Abused by her father, disdained by her husband who eventually received an annulment of the marriage. Charitable to poor and sick. Devoted to Passion of Christ. |  St. Ivo of Brittany (priest, 1253-1303) |
 Blessed Gerard of Villamagna (c. 1200-1242)—Humble, holy hermit and pilgrim. Used to visit three churches each week, praying for souls in Purgatory, remission of his own sins, and conversion of unbelievers. |  Blessed Delphina (1283-1358)—Noble countess who lived in virginity with her husband Elzear. Instructed her servants in love of God. Cared for poor. After Elzear’s death, became mistress of royal household in Sicily where she edified all the court by her virtue. |  Saint Elzear of Sabran (1286-1323)—Noble count who lived in virginity with his wife, served the poor, nursed the sick, performed miracles. |
 Blessed Elisabetta Vendramini (nun, 1790-1860) |  Blessed Angeline of Marsciano (consecrated virgin, 1377-1435) |  Saint Amato Ronconi (1226?-1292?)--Devoted to poor, lived from working in fields of others, ate only herbs and vegetables, practiced mortification, gave hospitality to pilgrims, built a hospice near his house. |
 Blessed Luchesio of Poggibonzi (? – 1242) First to live the Rule of 1221. Merchant and husband. Exercised charity to the poor and the sick. Man of prayer and austerities. |  Saint Frances of Rome (1384-1440)—Mother, widow, mystic, prophet, benefactor of sick and poor. Founded the Oblates of Mary. Had angel as companion at the end of her life. |  Saint Zita of Lucca (1218-1278)—Pious, generous, dedicated, meek household servant. Assisted poor, sick, and imprisoned. |
 Saint Virdiana (1182-1242)—Prayerful anchorite (walled-in hermit) gifted with miracles. |  Blessed Torello of Poppi (1208-1282)—Lived dissolute life as a young man. Experienced conversion and became a hermit. Overcame spiritual attacks. Worked miracles. |  Saint Thomas More (1477-1535)—Lord chancellor of England, husband, father, humanist, scholar, intellectual, author, martyred for treason because he refused to support King Henry VIII in his divorce and remarriage against Church law. |
 Saint Louis IX of France (1215-1270)—King, husband, father, crusader. Founded hospitals, built churches, promoted learning. Peacemaker. Guided and taught his children. Ruled his kingdom with Christian values. |  Saint Roch of Montpellier (c. 1295-1378)—Wealthy noble who devoted his life to care of plague victims. Falsely imprisoned but made no defense of his innocence. |  Blessed Raymond Lull (1236-1314)—Learned teacher, preacher, author, founder of a college, evangelizer of Muslims, martyr. |
 Saint Peter Baptist (priest, martyr, died 1597) |  Blessed Pedro de San Jose de Betancur (1626-1667)—Opened hospital, shelter for the homeless, school for the poor. Walked streets of Guatemala City, urging repentance. |  Blessed Paula Gambara (?-1505)—Holy wife devoted to service of the poor. Suffered under dissolute, abusive husband who, through her prayers, eventually experienced conversion. Widowed, devoted to prayer, penance, works of charity. |
 Blessed Luisa Albertoni (1474-1533)—Noble wife and mother who educated her three daughters at home. Widowed at thirty-three years of age. Devoted to prayer, penance, simplicity, care of poor especially destitute young girls who needed work or a dowry. |  Saint Joseph Cafasso (priest, 1811-1860) |  Blessed Jacoba de Settesoli (1190-1239)—Holy noblewoman, wife, mother. Support of St. Francis of Assisi and his friars. Buried in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. |
 Saint Hyacinth of Mariscotti (nun, 1585-1640) |  Saint Ferdinand III of Spain (1199-1252)—Husband, father. Generous, just, gentle king who drove from Spain the Muslims who were threatening to exterminate Christianity. Insisted on discipline and Christian conduct among his soldiers. Sponsored founding of University of Salamanca. Rebuilt Cathedral of Burgos. |  Saint Elizabeth (Isabella) of Portugal (1271-1336)—Holy, prayerful Queen of Portugal, peacemaker. |
 Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231) –Daughter of the King of Hungary. Wed to Louis of Thuringia. Widowed at an early age. Founded a hospital. Known for her penances and her charity to the poor |  Saint Conrad of Piacenza (1290-1354)—Wealthy noble who converted after a fire he lit while hunting destroyed a neighbor’s cornfield. Turned himself in when an innocent peasant was condemned for starting the blaze. Gave up his wealth and became a hermit while his wife became a Poor Clare nun. Suffered many spiritual attacks. |  Blessed Mary Frances Schervier (nun, foundress, 1819-1876) |
 Blessed Angela of Foligno (1248-1309) – Lived worldly life as wife before her conversion. Mystic who started community of those living the Rule of 1221. Devoted to care of the needy. |
Lay Martyrs of Nagasaki (1597)
February 6 is the memorial of Saint Paul Miki and the Martyrs of Nagasaki who died in 1597. All of the martyrs were canonized by Pople Pius IX in 1862. Seventeen of Saint Paul Miki's 25 companions were Franciscan tertiaries. The Rule that these lay Franciscans were living is essentially the original Rule which St. Francis gave to the lay penitents in 1221, the Rule that the Confraternity of Penitents is living as interpreted by its constitutions.
History of the Franciscan Order Rule
In 1221, Saint Francis of Assisi gave a rule of life to the laity who wished to follow his example of living a life surrendered to Christ, but to live this way as laity. This is the Rule the Confraternity of Penitents is living.
In 1289, the Pope put the penitents who were living the 1221 Rule directly under the Franciscans, thus making them Franciscan Tertiaries (Third Order members), but made little other changes to the Rule. This was the Rule lived by these Japanese martyrs, essentially the 1221 Rule but naming the Franciscan Order as their guardian.
In 1883, Pope Leo XIII simplified the 1289 Rule, giving the lay Franciscans what came to be called the Leonine Rule.
In 1978, Pope Paul VI approved further modifications which resulted in the Pauline Rule. This is the Rule lived today by the Order of Franciscans Secular (Secular Franciscan Order).
Members of the Confraternity of Penitents are living the original Rule of 1221, as updated by modern constitutions which have been approved by Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne/South Bend. Bishop Rhoades has canonically recognized the Confraternity of Penitents as a commended private association of the faithful. Letter of commendation is on this link.
Here are short biographies of the lay Japanese martyrs of Nagasaki from www.catholicsaints.info
Anthony Dainan
Son of a Chinese father and Japanese mother. Altar boy. Educated by the Jesuits in Nagasaki and the Franciscans in Osaka. Franciscan tertiary. One of the Martyrs of Nagasaki at age 13.
Bonaventure of Miyako
Baptized as an infant, his mother died when he was a baby, and his step-mother sent him to be raised in a Buddhist monastery. When he was judged old enough, he was told about his background. To learn more, he visited the Franciscan convent at Kyoto. There he found a peace he had been looking for, and stayed to become a Franciscan tertiary. Catechist. One of the Martyrs of Nagasaki.
Cosmas Takeya
Sword maker. Convert to Christianity, brought into the faith by Jesuit missionaries. Lay Franciscan tertiary. Interpreter for the missionaries. Catechist for the Franciscans. Preached in Osaka.
Francisco of Nagasaki
Physician. Adult convert to Catholicism by Franciscan missionaries. Even before his conversion he carried a set of rosary beads. Franciscan tertiary. Catechist and preacher. Worked with the sick, treating them for free, and bringing religious teaching to those who were interested.
Francis Kichi
Was baptized by a Franciscan Missionary about eight months before his death. A carpenter by trade, he lived near the monastery and worked for the missionaries. He was absent when the martyrs were seized. When he returned home he heard the news and was anxious because he alone remained. He hurried to the prison with a bottle of sake and besought the police to let him join the martyrs, but his request was not granted. When the band of martyrs was drawn away he tried to ride on the carriage also, but was forcibly pushed away. Undaunted he followed after them. On the way to Nagasaki his desire was at last realized, for he too was arrested and placed with the prisoners.
Gabriel de Duisco
Convert, brought to the faith by Saint Gundisalvus Garcia. Catechist. Born c.1578 at Ise, Japan
Joachim Sakakibara
Physician who treated the poor for free. Franciscan tertiary. Sometime cook for the Franciscan missionaries at Osaka, Japan. Catechist.
John Kisaka
Layman. Silk-weaver. Convert. Franciscan tertiary.
Leo Karasumaru
Younger brother of Saint Paul Ibaraki. Uncle of Saint Louis Ibaraki. A Buddhist bonze in his youth. Convert to Christianity, baptized by Japanese Jesuits in 1589. First Korean Franciscan tertiary. Chief catechist for the Franciscan friars, and threw himself into any task they gave him. Born in Owari, Korea
Louis Ibaraki
Nephew of Saint Paul Ibaraki and Saint Leo Karasumaru. Altar boy for the Franciscan missionaries. One of the Martyrs of Nagasaki. Noted for maintaining his high spirits and encouraging all around him during the torture and forced march to Nagasaki. He was about 12 years old at the time of his martyrdom.
Matthias of Miyako
When soldiers arrived to arrest Christians during an official persecution, they were looking for another Matthias who was not there. This Matthias offered himself, both to stand for his faith and to save the other Matthias. The soldiers were happy to take him.
Michael Kozaki
Married lay man. Father of Saint Thomas Kozaki. Bow maker and carpenter. Already a Christian when the Franciscans started their missionary work in his area, he joined as a Secular Franciscan, and worked with them as a catechist, and as a nurse in their hospital. Helped to build convents and churches in Kyoto and Osaka.
Paul Ibaraki
Member of a noble samuri family. Brother of Saint Leo Karasumaru. Ran a small sake brewery to support his family. Convert, brought to the faith by Jesuit missionaries. Franciscan lay tertiary. Worked with the missionaries in Kyoto as an interpreter, catechist and lay preacher near the Franciscan convent of Our Lady of the Angels. Always charitable to those even poorer than himself.
Paul Suzuki
Convert, baptized by the Jesuits in 1584. Franciscan tertiary. Catechist. In charge of Saint Joseph’s hospital in Kyoto, Japan. One of the Martyrs of Nagasaki. He preached from the cross in his last minutes.
Peter Sukejirō
Catechist. House servant and sacristan to the Franciscan missionaries. Arrested for his faith in Kyoto while ministering to imprisoned fellow Christians.
Thomas Kozaki
Son of Saint Michael Kozaki. Altar boy. Helped his father with his carpentry for the Franciscan missionaries and then stayed at the convent they had built. His farewell letter to his mother, written from prison, has survived.
Thomas Xico aka Thomas Danki
Pharmacist with a violent disposition. Prayer and faith eventually mellowed him, and he became a kind-hearted Franciscan tertiary. When the Franciscans opened the convent of Our Lady of the Angels, Thomas moved his drug store next door to it. Catechist. Interpreter for the Franciscan missionaries.