For Francis and for Clare, the Eucharist was the central act of prayer. While Francis admired and learned from the Muslim practice of prayer, he himself prayed in the name of Christ. Bonaventure develops this understanding of communal life as a life which prizes love and forbids greed, which prizes the importance and beauty of the world. She wrote a religious Rule for her community of sisters in which she joins Francis in insisting that authority be defined as service, that mutual charity take practical forms, and that decisions be made collaboratively. Francis and Bonaventure were engaged in the culture of their time and place, but both challenged their contemporaries.
Franciscan education is affective learning.
Siena has adopted a multicultural plan to foster its Franciscan commitment to being a community which reflects and appreciates the ethnic and cultural richness of the college community. Diversity in the college population and attention to ethnic and cultural diversity in the curriculum not only prepare students for the larger society they will enter, this diversity is also in keeping with the values of Francis who styled himself the brother of all creation. The Franciscan tradition plays out in the two crucial areas of college life. First, Siena's Franciscan identity requires us to be a student-centered community. It requires faculty, staff, and administrators to respect each student, to work with students attentively, to communicate a sense of enjoyment at being part of this college.