On November 29, 2023, the Franciscans are celebrating the eighth centenary of the confirmation of their Later Rule (Regula bullata) by Pope Honorius III (November 29, 1223). This is one of the four great Rules of consecrated life, along with that of Saint Basil (eremitical), Saint Augustine (canonical), and Saint Benedict (monastic)[1]. Francis of Assisi wrote it at a time of internal tensions. Rather than trying to appease them with a commitment to precise norms, he prefers to appeal again to the grace of the origins; that is, to the evangelical ideal that had transformed his life (Test 1). His intention in writing it could be expressed with the biblical phrase: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10). For centuries, however, the Rule was seen as a predominantly juridical text. Pope Clemente V identifies 24 precepts in the Later Rule. Others raise the number of precepts to 28, 39, and even to 61. There were even claims that Christ himself had dictated it to Saint Francis. In making the religious profession, the friars vow to observe it, along with the three evangelical counsels, and therefore it was considered a mortal sin to…