The Order of the Capuchin Friars, which is one of the three mendicant religious orders of the Franciscan Family, was born through the efforts of Brother Matteo from Bascio and Brother Ludovico from Fossombrone, who obtained the permission in Viterbo from Pope Clement VII in 1528 to live in stricter accordance with the Rule of Saint Francis following a rigorous model of penance, poverty and prayer for the purpose of serving those in need, especially during epidemics.
This initial approval marked the beginning of the religious life of the order, whose members were first known as “Friars Minor of the hermetic life”, were later called Capuchins because of their distinctive hood, cappuccio in Italian.
Photo: Füsun Kavrakoğlu, Rome, 2026.
The movement spread so quickly throughout Italy and Europe that there were already over 34.000 Capuchins and 1.000 friaries by the 16th century. They soon undertook missionary work in accordance with the precept of being “strangers and pilgrims in this world”.
The hallmarks of Capuchin spirituality were always extreme poverty, industrious asceticism and inner prayer accompanied by preaching, most often addressed to the humblest layers of population, a model of “fraternity embedded in the people”.
Established today in many countries all over the world, Capuchins are one of the largest and most popular orders of the Catholic Church.
One of the Capuchins’ articles of everyday use is the very capacious basket, generally with a lid, that friars would take from house to house to collect alms and offerings, mostly food, for their own sustenance and for the paupers in their care.
In the 20th century, remaining faithful to the spirit of adaptation and changing times, the Order took on new forms, always with the intention of witnessing the Gospel and Franciscanism in contemporaneity. We find Capuchins serving during world conflicts on battlefields or in prison and internment camps; others engaged in social alongside workers of all categories; others in the various contexts of culture and teaching. Then there are those who become interpreters of artistic research, combining the orientations of contemporary art with deep Christian idealities; an interpreter of the radio-television medium, a channel of evangelization with a very high audience, in Italian homes.
Source
Information panels in the Convent of the Immaculate Conception in Rome.
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