From October 2025 to May 2026, a series of seminars on the theme: “Begging Compared: Mendicant Orders Between Rule and Reality” was held at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

This project was born from the collaboration between some of the oldest mendicant orders: not only Carmelites, but also Dominicans, Augustinians, Servants of Mary, Franciscans Minor, and Capuchins.

Father Giovanni Grosso, O.Carm., general archivist and former president of the Institutum Carmelitanum, participated on behalf of the Carmelites.

The figure of the beggar arose during the Late Middle Ages, reflecting particular social challenges. Since then, mendicant friars have helped shape the Church. However, over the centuries, their concept of mendicancy has changed. A series of lectures, given by historians belonging to the various orders, offers a vision of the multiple values and encourages mutual discussion..