How did the Third Order start? It actually goes right back to the time when Francis visited Cannara, a small village not far from Assisi, and preached in the piazza there. It was an inhospitable place, bleak and cold in winter, and constantly troubled by wolves; the inhabitants were said to be 'sullen, dour and troublesome'. Nevertheless, Francis' words seemed to charm them all, and their response gave even more impetus to his declarations about the love of God. But croaking swallows flying above him broke Francis' train of thought, so he stopped in the middle of his talk and said to them: My sisters, it is my turn to speak now. You have said enough already. Listen to God's word, and be quiet until the sermon is over. The swallows stopped flying, and lined up along the housetops, cornices, ledges and every other spot available to listen attentively. This 'miracle' prompted a second one.

To Francis' astonishment, all the townspeople, men and women, declared that they wanted to join him and his community. Telling them that he would make suitable arrangements, he eventually created the Third Order after he had met a merchant Lucchesio and his wife Buonadonna in Poggibonsi (between Siena and Florence) in 1221; they begged him to receive them as disciples of poverty, but without forcing them to join separate Orders. The Third Order was thus 'officially' born and Francis wrote a rule for its members, which had great influence on the life of the period. This Order aims to demonstrate that the gospel life can successfully be lived in any condition or time of life - it is a call heard by men and women, married and celibate, ordained and lay, to return to the apostolic age of the Church in their own life and setting. Its objective is to penetrate all of society in ways, and in numbers, that the other two Orders are unable to do.