More than 800 years ago St. Francis of Assisi came upon a church outside of Assisi, Italy that was in great disrepair. In the midst of the shambles, on a wall, was a crucifix. As he knelt in prayer, the image on the cross spoke to him, telling him to "Go repair my house." Francis didn't turn to a fund raisier to raise the money to get the job done. He assumed his rather wealthy family would help. He was wrong. His father disowned him. But like Jesus, Francis had an extended view of "family". All of creation, all people, especially the poor, became his family. Francis didn't know a thing about fund raising. But he knew how to work with his hands for the poor. If more was needed then he begged. Eight hundred years later, Franciscans are still working with their hands and begging to help the poor in the name of the Lord.

How It Started

The General Secretariat of the Franciscan Missions (Franciscan Missions, Inc.) was started by Fr. Constantine Koser, the General Minister of the Order of Frairs Minor in 1964 for the purpose of raising funds to help support the work of the Franciscans who live and work with the poorest of the poor throughout the world.

Franciscan Missions, Inc is currently under the direction of Fr. Sereno Baiardi, O.F.M. Ordained in 1966 in Genova, Italy, Fr. Sereno was assigned to the Mission Office in 1971 after working in the missions in Lybia.

Shortly after his arrival, he was joined by Fr. Sante DeAngelis, O.F.M.who hails from the Marche region of Italy. He was ordained in 1962.

They, along with a staff of thirteen, work, with your help, to foster the spread of the Gospel and help to raise the dignity of people's lives.

We Franciscans have 5,400 missionaries and 800 missions throughout the world. We serve the poor on every continent, following in the steps of St. Francis, with special ministry to people with leprosy. We do not employ a professional fund raiser. We depend on contributions from people like yourself. All promotions are designed and produced on our premises by the staff to the right of this column.

The General Secretariat of the Franciscan Mission is a legitimate not-for-profit organization legally registered in the State of Wisconsin. Your contributions are tax deductible.

Photo of Mission Office, Waterford, WI