The Franciscan Covenant Program seeks mature, well balanced and spiritually motivated persons between the ages of 21 and 65 who are in good health and free of financial, family and job responsibilities. Our program includes both single persons and married couples; however, we are not able to accommodate either children or pets. The covenant members make a short term commitment to live and work with the Franciscans in the Saint Barbara Province for a year at a time for up to three years.

There are three primary elements considered in this commitment, each of which will vary in importance depending on the individual situation:

Spritual Development

Growth in the spiritual life is a vital aspect of the Covenant Program. The members share in the prayer life of the Franciscan community as well as participate in other activities pertaining to inner and spiritual growth including Spiritual Direction.

Mission/Service

Each Covenant member engages in the apostolic work of the friars. Determining factors in the placement of an applicant include matching his/her skills, gifts and values with the needs of a given location in the province.

Community Life

The formation of community is understood to be a result of the commitment of an individual in the community to mission and spiritual development. The degree of community life, its relative intensity and self-definition will vary from location to location.

If you have recently gone through or are going through a crisis such as divorce, death, loss of job, etc. we ask that there be a waiting period of a year before applying. Usually a great deal of time and psychological space is needed in order to deal with issues raised by such a crisis. Most people find that living and working in community is a completely different kind of life style from what they have formally experienced and one that calls for adaptability. This life style does not allow for time and space to deal with the types of crisis mentioned, but rather demands that one's life be very centered so that one can better serve others.