Digital Version of the Document
The Constitutions of Saint Euphemia is a founding and regulative document that established the life, spirit, and discipline of the reform of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin in its early days. It represents the project of renewal of Franciscan spirituality at that time.
The Constitutions of Saint Euphemia of 1536 was approved at the General Chapter held in Rome, in the friary of Saint Euphemia on the Esquiline Hill, near the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, and continues to be a fundamental aspect of the spirituality and legislative activity of the Capuchin Friars Minor. Our current Constitutions, the result of updates at various intervals, was approved at the General Chapter of 2012 and promulgated on December 8, 2013. The Constitutions of 1536 is not simply a set of rules, but a form of life that the first Capuchins drew up in their desire to return to a strict observance of the Gospel according to the Rule of St. Francis of Assisi.
As its key point, the document addressed the primacy of prayer and contemplation. It emphasized the need for every friar to “diligently seek to enlighten the mind and inflame the heart,” thus preparing the spirit for divine action. This emphasis on the contemplative life, together with radical poverty, austerity, and service to the poor and sick, distinguished the Capuchins as a force for renewal within the Church at the time of the Counter-Reformation.
As we journey towards the 500th anniversary of the Capuchin Reform, which we will celebrate in 2028, we are making this document available in a digital format for study and reflection.
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