Franciscan Volunteer Ministers are lay men and women who live in community with one another, who pray together, and who dedicate at least one year of their lives to ministry with the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province.

Based on the Gospel message to express love in action, the Franciscan Volunteer Ministry provides an environment that fosters service to the marginalized, personal and interpersonal development, spiritual growth, and an active prayer life. As living witnesses to Gospel values and Franciscan ideals, the Franciscan Volunteer Ministers are committed to a simple lifestyle that promotes solidarity with the poor and builds a Christian community with one another. This experience, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, will nurture the Franciscan Volunteer Ministers to grow in faith, to become witnesses to the world, and to their faith communities.

St. Francis Inn Ministries serves the poor and homeless in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. Its programs include a daily soup kitchen that serves more than 141,400 meals a year, as well as a clothing center.

The people who minister at the Inn form a Franciscan, Eucharistic community inspired by the life and compassion of Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi. The Inn's ministry team seeks to empower people to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty and address structural injustices. It strives to build relationships with those it serves by respecting their dignity and helping them to restore hope in their lives, and by living simply among them.

Life at Mt. Irenaeus, a Franciscan mountain retreat in Western New York, is centered on attending to what is primary: presence to God, others, one’s self and earth. All who participate in the mission of the Mountain join with Jesus Christ in “making all things new” by creating and nourishing a community that transcends a particular place, opening to all peoples, ages and cultures. 

Since its founding, the friars at Mt. Irenaeus, a Franciscan mountain retreat in rural Western New York, have welcomed lay men and women to join them in their ministry. Mountain Companions help lead retreats and "walk with" guests on their spiritual journeys. Companions also help tend the land and provide hospitality to guests, while living and working among the friars and visitors. The Mountain provides a setting for Companions to grow spiritually – to deepen their relationship with God by making a commitment to live simply in a communal life in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi.