ORIGINS
St. Francis who at the beginning of his conversion had already gathered many companions and received them into the Order, was in doubt as to what God wanted him to do: to give himself only to continual prayer or to preach. St. Francis wanted very much to know which of these pleased Jesus the most, so in humility he entrusted not himself, but St. Clare, one of her purer and more spiritual companions, and Brother Silvester to pray for him. St. Francis had Brother Masseo go to St. Clare and Brother Silvester and deliver his message to them. When God had answered their prayers, he returned to St. Francis and revealed God's will and said, "He wants you to go about the world preaching, because God did not call you for yourself alone but also for the salvation of others." After hearing God's will, St. Francis with great fervor and spiritual ardor wasted no time in fulfilling His will. He, along with Brothers Masseo and Angelo, set out to travel not paying attention to the direction their went, arrived in a village called Cannara.
When St. Francis arrived at Cannara, he began to preach, but he first ordered the swallows who were twittering to remain quiet until after he finished preaching to the town’s people and they obeyed him. St. Francis preached so fervently that together with the miracle of the swallows, the crowd presented themselves to St. Francis to follow his way of life. In response, St. Francis realized that not everyone could join the First or Second Order, so to facilitate the salvation of all people, he organized and instituted the Third Order.
From Cannara St. Francis traveled to Bevagna, where on the way he saw a tree with a multitude of birds. Moved by the Spirit of God, he told his companions to wait for him as he was going to preach to our sisters, the birds. St. Francis approached the tree and as soon as he began to preach, all the birds came down to him and remained motionless. When he completed his sermon, all the birds began to open their beaks, stretch out their necks, spread their wings, and reverently bow their heads to the ground, showing by their movements and their songs that the words which St. Francis was saying gave them great pleasure. And when St. Francis noticed this, he likewise rejoiced greatly in spirit with them. When Francis had finished preaching, he made the Sign of the Cross over the birds and gave them permission to leave.
After the blessing of St. Francis, all the birds rose up simultaneously and sang a wonderful song and when they finished, they formed into a Cross, the Cross which St. Francis had made over them. They separated in an orderly way and formed four groups, with each group flying off into a different direction, north, south, east and west, singing marvelously as they flew away. This signified that just as St. Francis who was to bear the marks of Christ’s Cross, hand preached to them and made the Sign of the Cross over them, so they had separated in the form of a cross and had flown away, singing, toward the four quarters of the world, thus suggesting that the preaching of the Cross of Christ, which had been renewed by St. Francis, was to be carried throughout the world by him and by his friars, who, like birds, possess nothing of their own in this world and commit themselves entirely to the Providence of God.
St. Francis' preaching and way of life continues to inspire many to join the Franciscan family of the First, Second and Third Orders. The Third Order which began in the year of 1221 with the original group of towns people from Cannara, first called the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, has expanded on an international level and exists in many countries throughout the world.