Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities.

The most prominent group is the Order of Friars Minor, commonly called simply the "Franciscans." They seek to follow most directly the manner of life that Saint Francis led. This Order is a mendicant religious order of men tracing their origin to Francis of Assisi. It comprises three separate groups, each considered a religious order in its own right. These are the Observants, most commonly simply called "Franciscan friars," the Capuchins, and the Conventual Franciscans. They all live according to a body of regulations known as "The Rule of St. Francis".

The official Latin name of the Orders of Friars Minor is the Ordo Fratrum Minorum. St. Francis thus referred to his followers as "Fraticelli", meaning "Little Brothers". Franciscan brothers are informally called friars or the Minorites. The modern organization of the Friars Minor now comprises three separate branches: the 'Friars Minor' (OFM); the 'Friars Minor Conventual' (OFM Conv), and the 'Friars Minor Capuchin' (OFM Cap).

Giovanni Battista Gaulli (8 May 1639 – 2 April 1709), also known as Baciccio, Il Baciccio or Baciccia (all Genoese nicknames for Giovanni Battista), was a painter of the Italian High Baroque verging onto that of the Rococo. He is best known for his grand, Gianlorenzo Bernini-influenced illusionistic vault fresco in the church of the Gesù in Rome.

Gaulli was born in Genoa, where his parents died from the plague of 1657. He initially apprenticed with Luciano Borzone. In mid-17th century, Gaulli's Genoa was a cosmopolitan Italian artistic center open to both commercial and artistic enterprises from north European countries, including countries with non-Catholic populations such as England and the Dutch provinces. Painters such as Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck stayed in Genoa for a few years. Gaulli's earliest influences would have come from an eclectic mix of these foreign painters and other local artists including Valerio Castello, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, and Bernardo Strozzi, whose warm palette Gaulli adopted. In the 1660s, he experimented with the cooler palette and linear style of Bolognese classicism.

Fr. Marco Tasca of the Paduan Province of St. Anthony is the 119th Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual.

Born on June 9, 1957 at Sant’Angelo di Piove, at Padua, his parents are Antonio (deceased) and Santa (94 years old). He entered the Order at Camposampiero on September 29, 1968, where he attended lower Primary school before going to the Seraphic Seminary of Pedavena (Belluno), and then to Brescia for his last years at the Lyceum-Minor Seminary.

He made his novitiate at the Basilica of St. Anthony (1976-1977) and professed First Vows on September 17, 1977. He then undertook his theological studies at the “Sant’Antonio Dottore” Theological Institute, receiving his Bachelor's degree in 1982. On November 28, 1981 he professed his Solemn Vows. In 1982, he moved to Rome, residing at the Seraphicum, attending courses toward a Licentiate at the Salesian Pontifical University.

He was ordained to the priesthood on March 19, 1983 at Sant'Angelo di Piove, at Padua, his hometown, by Bishop Filippo Franceschi, the Bishop of Padua. In 1986 he completed his Licentiate in Psychology at the Salesian University, and two years later a Licentiate in Pastoral Theology at the same University. He returned to his Province, and from 1988 to 1994 was Rector of the Minor Seminary in Brescia, then of the Post-Novitiate in Padua (1994-2001).