Franciscan Clarist Congregation is a Syro-Malabar Catholic religious institute of women founded at Changanassery, Kerala, in 1888 and commonly abbreviated F.C.C.
Foundation and identity
Eight women associated with the Franciscan Third Order began the community at Changanassery on 14 December 1888 with the support of local ecclesiastical authority. The institute took form within the Syro-Malabar Church and drew upon the Gospel pattern associated with Saint Francis and Saint Clare. Its title does not make it a branch of the Poor Clares, and the initials F.C.C. identify this particular congregation rather than the Franciscan family generally.[1]
Communities developed in several Kerala jurisdictions before a process of union brought historically separate diocesan branches into one congregation. The institute's proper law, superiors, provinces, formation, and apostolates operate within Catholic discipline and the competent authority of the Church. Saint Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception and Blessed Rani Maria Vattalil were professed members.
Life and apostolate
Members profess the evangelical counsels and live a common religious life shaped by Syro-Malabar worship, Franciscan spirituality, prayer, work, and service. Their apostolates have included education, health care, social service, missionary work, and care for people made vulnerable by poverty or illness. These ministries belong to the institute as a community and should not be reduced to the biographies of its best-known sisters.[2]
References
- 1.Franciscan Clarist Congregation generalate history — The institute's generalate account of its foundation, name, Franciscan patrimony, and historical development within the Syro-Malabar Church.
- 2.Code of Canon Law, canons 607–709 — Universal Latin discipline on religious institutes, profession, governance, apostolate, and the rights and duties of members.