mendicant

Mendicant refers to a person who relies on alms for support, or to a religious order whose members live by begging and do not own property. The word comes from the Latin mendicans, meaning beggar, from mendicare to beg. In religious use, mendicant orders are communities whose members vow poverty and subsist on charity while pursuing an active apostolate, such as preaching, teaching, and works of mercy.

Mendicant orders arose in medieval Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries as urban religious movements. They formed in contrast to monastic communities that pursued landholding and cloistered life. Mendicant friars typically lived in towns, traveled among the people, and focused on evangelization and education rather than solitary contemplation. Their reliance on alms was seen as a concrete expression of poverty and dependence on the community.

Prominent mendicant orders include the Franciscans (Order of Friars Minor and its offshoots) and the Dominicans (Order of Preachers). Over time, other communities adopted the mendicant model, including certain Carmelite and Augustinian groups, as well as reform branches like the Capuchins. Mendicant orders have played a significant role in education, missionary work, and urban service throughout their history, often establishing schools, universities, and hospitals.

In general English, mendicant can describe a beggar. In religious contexts, it designates a member of a mendicant order or an order adhering to a lifestyle of poverty and itinerant ministry.