The Brothers of the Poor of St. Francis
Franciscan Brothers 150th Anniversary
The foundation of the Congregation of the Brothers of the Poor of St. Francis
by Brother John Hoever on Christmas Eve, 1857.

The Brothers of the Poor of St. Francis of Assisi
Celebrate 150 Years

On Christmas Eve of 1857, Philip Martin Hoever, a teacher who was concerned about the terrible living conditions of the industrial workers and their families in mid-19th century Germany, founded the Brothers of the Poor of St. Francis.



Foundation of our Congregation on Christmas Eve
(Motherhouse in Aachen, Germany)

On that day, Hoever and three other members of the Secular Third Order of St. Francis knelt before a manger scene in Aachen, Germany, and pledged themselves as a group of Franciscan Brothers. Philip Hoever adopted the religious name of Brother John.



Philip Martin Hoever (Brother John)

From that day forward, in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, Brother John and the other members of the new religious congregation dedicated their lives to the service of society's poor and disadvantaged, especially among the youth. The congregation quickly spread to other parts of Germany.

On this Christmas Eve, 2007, the Brothers of the Poor of St. Francis began a one-year celebration of the 150th anniversary of the congregation's founding with a private ceremony at the St. Clare Chapel of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor located in the Hartwell area of Cincinnati. This location for the ceremony is especially appropriate because the Blessed Frances Schervier, who founded the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis in Aachen in 1845, had supported Philip Hoever's efforts to found the Brothers of the Poor of St. Francis.



The meeting of St. Francis and St. Clare

In March, 2008, a public celebration will be held in El Paso, Texas, where four Franciscan Brothers live and work. On July 13, 2008, the primary celebration, which will be open to the public, will be held at 3PM at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky.

The Franciscan Brothers have been serving in the Cincinnati/Covington region since the late 1860's. Today, they teach youths, serve the elderly, advocate for juveniles, and engage in pastoral ministries in the Archdioceses of Cincinnati and Newark, New Jersey, and in the Dioceses of Little Rock, Arkansas; Davenport, Iowa; Covington, Kentucky; and El Paso, Texas. The congregation also has ministries in Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium.