Monasticism was based on the principle that a religious life could not be lived in the midst of the world’s activities. Friars, instead, found their religious expression in the social life of their times. Rather than isolated contemplation, they strove toward evangelism and social service. The friars found their lives by losing them, as Jesus did, in service to others. Two influential friars were Francis of Assisi and Dominic. Wedded to the “Lady Poverty,” Francis worked among lepers, befriended the sick and the needy, and preached wherever he went. Pope Innocent III sanctioned a new brotherhood around Francis and it speedily won popularity that the old orders could not equal. While Francis was initiating the Franciscan order, Dominic, a Spanish theologian, devoted his life to the suppression of such heresies as he saw in southern France. Convinced that the parish priests were not capable of coping with heretics, he organized an order of black-robed friars to go forth and preach and suppress heresy. He too received the sanction of the pope, and the Dominicans became rivals of the Franciscans in the universities and in the esteem of the people. The popularity of the movement led to the organization also of Carmelites and Augustinians.
Impact: The movement in general stimulated religion, and in spite of later degeneracy was evidence of a desire for a more vital kind of religion.