The Church expects from the Secular Franciscan order, one and only, a great service in the cause of the Kingdom of God in the world today. The Church desires that your order should be a model of organic, structural and charismatic unity on all levels, so as to present itself to the world as a "community of love." The Church expects from you, Secular Franciscans, a courageous and consistent testimony of Christian and Franciscan life, leaning towards the construction of a more fraternal and Gospel world for the realization of the Kingdom of God.

St. Pope John Paul II
2002 OFS General Chapter