What medieval order founded in the 13th century is linked to poverty and charity?

The story behind the answer

Founded by Francis of Assisi in the early 1200s and approved in 1223, this mendicant order embraced radical poverty: members owned no property, lived by alms, and devoted themselves to preaching, caring for the sick and poor, and reconciling communities. Their model of humble itinerant ministry made poverty itself a witness and charity a daily practice.

They emerged amid Europe’s growing towns as part of the new mendicant wave. Unlike the Cistercians (a 12th-century monastic reform centered on rural abbeys), Dominicans (focused on learned preaching), or the militarized Hospitallers, they sought to imitate Christ’s poverty among the urban poor. Their influence spread through lay “Third Orders,” missionary work, and the arts—think Giotto’s frescoes inspired by their ideals.