The Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University has partnered with the Franciscan Study Center at Tilburg University, Netherlands, to launch a new association of scholars, teachers and students around the world to collaborate in the study of the Franciscan movement.
Named The International Society of Franciscan Studies, the new organization will promote the collaborative study of the Franciscan movement with special consideration of the theological, historical, spiritual, and pastoral aspects of the movement in the broadest sense.
The society is being developed by the institute’s director, Fr. David B. Couturier, O.F.M. Cap., and by Dr. Krijn Pansters of Tilburg University as an association that promotes interdisciplinary study and cooperation with researchers and students across the multiple disciplines and sub-disciplines that intersect with an interest in Franciscan studies.
The goal is to connect scholars and students in the Franciscan tradition from various regions and backgrounds and to broaden the reach of the wide range of women and men doing research in Franciscan studies in departments of theology, history, philosophy, art history, economics, medical sciences, music history, liturgy, historical linguistics and literary studies, among many others.
“The idea for this new society came from a conversation I had with a young Franciscan scholar in Africa who lamented how scattered scholars and students of the Franciscan movement are across the globe,” Couturier said. “We agreed that they deserve a space, indeed a home (or two), where they can join with other like-minded scholars. This is especially important for our young scholars.”
The Franciscan Institute and the Franciscan Study Center will sponsor biennial conferences as part of the society’s mission.
The organization will be a platform for establishing new connections with Franciscan researchers around the world as well as deepening existing ones, Pansters said.
“Scholars in the field of Franciscan studies are typically specialists in specific areas, such as early Franciscan sources, 13th century Franciscan philosophy, or contemporary Franciscan spirituality. What connects them is a search for the truth about and the meaning of the Franciscan movement in its historical or contemporary context,” he said. “The new society offers a welcoming place where everybody, religious and lay, can work toward that same goal of a deeper understanding of the Franciscan tradition.”
Couturier will serve as the founding president of the society and Pansters will serve as vice president until an executive board is seated and functioning. The International Society of Franciscan Studies will be formally inaugurated at the start of the new year.
For more information about the institute, visit www.sbu.edu/FranciscanInstitute.