Franciscans of Canada
The Franciscan Story in Canada
Our mission in Canada began when the first Franciscan friars arrived from France in Quebec City in 1615. Originally, they were called the Recollects, which refers to their origins in a movement to renew the Franciscan spirit by going back to its origins. By the middle of the 19th century, their mission had come to an end, but it resumed in 1888 in Montreal. Among them was Father Frédéric Janssoone, who also established in Trois-Rivières the Commissariat of the Holy Land to support the Franciscan ministry there. Now there were enough friars to begin a Franciscan Province in Canada: Saint Joseph Province. It included houses in Lachute, Trois-Rivières, and Montréal. This was the beginning of the Franciscan mission that would extend throughout Canada.
In 1908, the Franciscans went from Québec to the prairies, beginning with their ministry in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Their presence grew, and due to the difficulties of arising from the size of Canada, the friars in the West became an independent Province, the Province of Christ the King. They lived and worked in all Western Canadian Provinces from Manitoba to British Columbia.
Canadian Franciscans also founded missions in South Korea and Peru, and they were also part of the friar who resumed a Franciscan community in Morocco.
The most recent chapter began in November 2018, when the friars across Canada came together as new Province, the Holy Spirit Province. It was founded to adapt to the changing circumstances of ministry in the 21st century so that we can continue to preach the Gospel in the language and by the means of our time.
