St John the Beloved Apostle Fraternity of the Order of Secular Franciscans was founded in 1969 in Alexandria VA. We are a religious lay order of men and women faithful within the Roman Catholic Church who follow the spirituality of St Francis of Assisi.
We are part of a family of orders founded by St Francis which include the clergy
OFM Order of Friar Minor, OFM TOR Third Order Regular, OFM Conventual, OFM Capuchins and the Poor Clare Sisters, as well as our lay men and women who are the OSF – Order of Secular Franciscans.
We meet monthly as lay Franciscans, but we frequently have apostolates which we do individually and as a community including, for example, making and serving meals at Christ House for the poor, visiting the sick at nursing homes and hospitals, prison ministry, helping pregnant women choose life and many spiritual undertakings with other Franciscan fraternities in the Region.
We hope you enjoy our website and look forward to answering any questions you may have about who we are and what we do.