OFM Franciscans - Philippines

The OFM Franciscans (Order of Friars Minor) arrived in Manila on July 2, 1578. Upon their arrival, the first fifteen friars were temporarily housed in the Augustinian convent in Intramuros. Then they finally moved to their own residence on August 1 of the same year. The next day they blessed their new church and placed it under the protection of Our Lady of the Angels. After few months, they set off for the evangelization of the archipelago. In Manila, they founded Santa Ana de Sapa, Paco, Pandacan, Sampaloc and San Francisco del Monte. With the arrival of more friars, the Province of St. Gregory the Great was finally erected on November 15, 1586.

By the year 1896 there were 275 Franciscans in the Philippines administering over a hundred parishes and mission areas. However, at the end of the Spanish colonial rule in 1898, many friars departed. By 1900 there were only 70 friars left. In 1905, the seat of the administration of the Province was transferred to Madrid, Spain. What was left was a Provincial Commissariat established to oversee the remaining ministries of the Spanish friars. On July 16, 1931 a seminary was opened in San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City for Filipino candidates. In 1948 only 23 Spanish Franciscans remained in the Philippines.

In 1962 the Our Lady of the Angels seminary was founded. OLAS was built through the joint efforts of the foundations (Spanish, Italian and American), and one of its objectives was to develop the native Franciscan vocation and eventually establish an indigenous Franciscan presence in the country.

Today, the Friars are in:
St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Sta. Ana, Cagayan;
Sts. Peter & Paul Parish in Brgy. Casambalangan, Sta. Ana, Cagayan;
St. Mary of the Angels Parish in Sta. Teresita, Cagayan;
St. Joseph the Spouse Parish in Sto. Tomas, Isabela;
St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Santiago, Isabela;
St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Palanan, Isabela;
St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Quezon, Nueva Vizcaya;
Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish in Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya;
Santuario de San Pedro Bautista Parish in Frisco, Quezon City;
San Jose ang Tagapagtanggol Parish in Brgy. Holy Spirit, Quezon City;
Sta. Clara Mission Community in Navotas/Malabon;
Our Lady of the Angels Seminary in Novaliches;
Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish in Sta. Ana, Manila;
St. Anthony Shrine in Sampaloc, Manila;
Santuario de San Antonio Parish in Forbes Park, Makati;
Juan de Plasencia Novitiate in Liliw, Laguna;
In the urban poor communities of the Post-Novitiate Formation in Brgy. San Jose, Caloocan City and Brgy. Holy Spirit, Quezon City;
Shrine of St. Francis in Donsol, Sorsogon;
Pope Pius X Mission Church in Virac, Catanduanes;
Poor Clare Monastery Chaplaincy in Katipunan, Cubao, Quezon City.

They are also involved in other special ministries such as: the media apostolate, justice, peace and integrity of creation initiatives, hospital chaplaincy, trans-parochial ministries (e.g. Charismatic & other lay apostolate groups) and the Indigenous people.

There are also friars of both the Province and Custody who are working as missionaries in Sudan, Libya, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Hongkong, China, Morocco, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Spain, Italy and the USA.