This week in Christian history: Sunday School Society founded, Jacques-Désiré Laval dies
First Franciscans arrive in England – Sept. 10, 1224
This week marks the anniversary of when the first members of the Society of Saint Francis, commonly known as the Franciscans, arrived in England.
St. Francis of Assisi, who had founded the Society about 15 years earlier, had Angellus of Pisa lead the group, which consisted of five friars and initially landed in Dover, Kent.
Last year, many religious bodies, among them the United Kingdom-based Catholic Diocese of Arundel & Brighton, commemorated the 800th anniversary of the landing.
“In sixteen short years, the Franciscans spread through the whole of Britain, recruiting 1,200 men to the Order — including a community near St Paul's Cathedral in London, and Oxford,” explained the diocese.
“Today, the Franciscan charism continues to attract people from across the world through a charism of radical Gospel living, care for the poor, care for creation and the pursuit of justice and peace.”
