Br. F. Edward Coughlin, O.F.M.
Interim Director, Franciscan Institute
Dean, School of Franciscan Studies
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Founded in 1939 by Fr. Thomas Plassmann, O.F.M., president of St. Bonaventure College, and led by its first director, Fr. Philotheus Boehner, O.F.M., the Franciscan Institute stands as the pre-eminent center in North America of teaching, research and publication on the history, spirituality and intellectual life of the Franciscan movement.
Thanks in large measure to its magnificent library of medieval and modern sources, the Institute first gained international prominence through its research on the great intellectual figures of the Franciscan tradition, resulting in the publication of the critical editions of their works, which was heralded the world over as demonstrating the very highest standards of scholarly research and publication. |
In response to the call of the Second Vatican Council (1963) for religious communities to return to the original sources of their charism, the Institute quickly developed several graduate programs of study that now grant degrees through the School of Franciscan Studies, the teaching component of the Franciscan Institute.
We offer not only an M.A. degree in Franciscan Studies and the advanced certificate but also other, less formal opportunities for study and research through a rich complement of Continuing Education programs. Building upon its international reputation in the academic world, Franciscan Institute Publications has more recently turned its attention to providing the very finest in current scholarship on the Franciscan tradition through an increasing number of monographs and new series bridging the medieval and contemporary worlds.
Allow me to invite you further into our website to explore the multi-faceted possibilities for discovery and learning about the movements founded by Francis and Clare of Assisi!
School of Franciscan Studies
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