(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Spring 2026 Issue #119)
Vickie Klick, OFS • Chair, NAFRA Centenary Task Force
In my lifetime, four of my relatives have celebrated their 100th birthday. A century is a long time. But this year, as you all know, we are celebrating the 800th anniversary of Francis’ death. How does Francis stay so popular after eight centuries? We can get an idea by looking at what has happened in just the last 40 years – my part of the story.
I started formation in the Secular Franciscan Order in 1983, just five years after our present Rule was promulgated. I had been Catholic for just a year and a half, and I had no idea how much the Order was changing. We had no constitutions (not even in draft) to guide us in our interpretation of the Rule, and relatively minimal formation materials. Despite the best efforts of my formators, I had a LOT to learn when I made my profession.
Since that time, we have been blessed by a great deal of work and study to unpack what it really means to be a Secular Franciscan, and to better prepare us not only for profession, but for our ongoing journey. We are also blessed with the scholarship that has given us better translations of the writings of Francis, Clare, and their followers.
In response to these many blessings, we need to do as Francis did and begin again. How am I called today to follow Christ in the spirit of St. Francis according to our Rule? What is mine to do? The good news for each of us is that we ARE called individually to what is ours to do; the bad news (if you want to look at it that way) is that each of us is responsible for ongoing discernment. What is mine to do today may not be what Christ wants me to do tomorrow.
During this Year of St. Francis will have many special activities. We will have a Zoom event, as we have for the past three centenary years. It will be on Sunday, September 27, at 3:00 PM Eastern time. I strongly encourage everyone to find a Transitus service to join on the weekend of the Feast of St. Francis. While it is ideal to join with other Franciscans in the area, there will also be online events, so everyone will have an opportunity to participate. It is a great time to visit a Franciscan church or shrine and avail ourselves of the plenary indulgence for the special jubilee year.
Beyond all that, it is also a great time to enhance our daily routines to better listen to Christ’s call each day, and to assess how well we’re living up to that call. While we enter Lent each year with many suggestions to intensify our faith, we can begin again any time. Ask the Lord what he wants and then listen! Our world, our Church, and our Order are depending on us to be a channel of grace in our days. Let us begin again and bring the joy of Francis to another generation.
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