Jesus said to his disciples:  “whoever wishes to become great among you must be  your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be the slave of all.” He went on to say that he had come “not be served but to serve” (Mark 10:43-45). In the pivotal chapter of St. John’s gospel, Jesus gets up from the table after a final meal with his disciples and begins to wash their feet. The one they call “Teacher” and “Lord” performs for them an act of Middle Eastern hospitality usually reserved for the lowest slave in the household. “I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you,” Jesus tells the future shepherds of his flock (John 13:15). Clearly, the concept of servant-leadership is nothing new in the Christian tradition.

St. Francis wanted this servant attitude of Christ to be mirrored in his own life and in the lives of his followers, especially the leaders among them. He frequently referenced the story of the foot-washing in John’s gospel. He told the friars: “Let no one be called superior, but let everyone in general be called a lesser brother. And let one wash the feet of the other.” (St. Francis of Assisi, The Earlier Rule, VI:3-4). To those who exercised authority “in the world,” Francis wrote: “Let the one to whom obedience has been entrusted and who is considered the greater be the  lesser and the servant of the other brothers.”(St. Francis of Assisi, Later Admonition and Exhortation, 42)  In word and deed, Francis taught that the best leaders are self-effacing stewards who put the common good of all ahead of their own personal gain.

Franciscan education trains the servant-leaders of tomorrow. It considers the pursuit of an education to be a privilege, not an entitlement, and believes that with great privilege comes great responsibility for those who are not so privileged. The service dimension of Franciscan education goes deeper than the promotion of “volunteerism.” It encourages students—the future leaders of our society—to see themselves as humble servants and to understand their life’s work as service in solidarity with their brothers and sisters, especially the least among us.