The Pope blesses Franciscan friars and lay Franciscans at Castel Gandolfo April 18. (CNS/L'Osservatore Romano, Reuters)

April 18 marked the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Franciscan order.

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the occasion at his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, along with nearly two thousand religious and lay Franciscans.

(Another significant anniversary was celebrated the following day: Benedict was elected as pope on April 19, 2005.)

If all of its branches are counted together, the Franciscans today comprise the largest religious order in the Church.

Those numbers are eloquent testimony to the enduring legacy of St. Francis of Assisi to the Church. Like other famous saints, through his holiness and charism, St. Francis helped the Church of his day to renew its Christian identity.

And contemporary Franciscans such as Father Benedict Groeschel, co-founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, continue to draw on that same charism and holiness to renew the Church today.

Speaking to the Franciscans assembled Saturday at Castel Gandolfo, “The Pope recalled how St. Francis heard God’s voice telling him, ‘Repair my house,’ and he urged today’s Franciscans to continue those efforts of fixing the serious ‘ruins’ in society and mankind,” CNS reported.

“Like Francis, always begin with yourself,” Benedict said. “We are the first homes that God wants restored.”