The history and spirituality of the Third Order Regular will be studied using the history of the rule text as the foundation. The course begins with an examination of the Rule and Life document, its basis in the early Franciscan sources, and the historical experience of the first generations of Franciscan penitents. The major revisions of the original Rule (1289, 1521, 1927) will be treated in the context of the ecclesial and social currents affecting the evolution of the Order. The history of the 1982 Rule project will serve as a vehicle for integrating an understanding of historical themes, current structures for collaboration, and spiritual self-understanding of the Third Order Regular’s four hundred institutes.