Holy Order of Saint Francis

There are many orders out there, belonging or at least affiliated with the Church, spreading “faith”, “helping” people, and many more “righteous” endeavours.
Obviously, most of them were actually doing that, so I apologise in advance for those quote marks.
But…
But there are plenty who are behaving weirdly, involved in shady dealings…
And I…
I am set on a duty to unmask them.
A duty, and obviously, the monetary rewards are quite higher for hot gossip, and unmasking, than for the normal stuff.
After unmasking the Order of Benevolent Brothers, where some of them were still doing their side-hustles that they used to do before entering the Order, now I take notice of a rather peculiar one.
The Holy Order of Saint Francis.
If you know a bit about the Saints, you shall know about Saint Francis, patron of animals and environment.
And while they do run some shelters for animals, and often start events for planting and replanting trees, something is off about them.
They avoid publicity completely.
The events are advertised by sponsors, but the brothers and sisters of the Order never appear until the day of the event.
They aren’t on posters.
They aren’t in ads.
One might say: “They are monks and nuns. Why are you so surprised?”
I would agree.
But it would be too perfect.
Also, there are accounts of the monks and nuns being couples…so there’s that.
So, I started my investigation.
The monastery had a convent, a nice chapel, a proper church, and plenty of other buildings.
Indeed, it seemed quite rich, even if the Order supposedly houses tens of thousands of members…which in itself seems rather weird.
Not the number, but the fact that thousands live in the same place is weird, and it is weird that there are several locations, and they all look completely different.
The locations each keep in touch with local traditions, yet they have the same name of Saint Francis.
When asking locals, I have managed to unearth another weird thing.
They aren’t all in the same belief system.
They all follow different religions, and have extremely varied faiths.
It was weird, but my investigation went nowhere.
No matter whom I asked, they all had only good words about the brothers and sisters of this order.
They all mentioned that they are peculiar, but nothing in a negative manner.
So, I started planning on investigating the monastery itself…
Long story short, on the very first night I tried to sneak in, I got caught, as they had a weird midnight meeting…
And now, I am sipping tea, in the Abbot’s study, as he stares down on me, with a benevolent smile.
The man is a behemoth of a being, towering over me even while we both are sitting.
Wearing a long grey robe, and having silver white hair, the Abbot looks like a friendly grandpa, rather than the leader of a monastery.
“So, brother, why did you try to sneak into our lands?”
He asked.
“I am a journalist.
I try to uncover the secrets hidden by those in power.
Many Orders of the Church have strayed from the original path intended to be walked on, and I try to show this to the masses.”
I said.
“But this Order didn’t stray from the path.”
The Abbot smiled.
“Are you sure?
Too many peculiarities are happening around this Order of yours, to be just a coincidence.
Even tonight…was that a midnight mass, or what?
It seemed more like a party…”
I said, certainly remembering seeing wine and more alcohol.
“Brother, are you aware of our Order’s mission?”
The Abbot asked.
“Protecting the environment and the animals?”
I probed.
“Protecting all creatures. Offering shelter. Revitalising the habitats.”
He said, taking his hands out of the robe’s sleeves.
“Creatures…”
I mused, as I watched his hands turn into a bear paw, and a deer hoof respectively.
“You…
So that’s why…”
I murmured.
The Abbot chuckled.
“You can drop the act…
I am sorry, brother, but you being one of us is obvious in our eyes.”
He laughed.
“Holy Order of Saint Francis…so you are not a fraud…”
I said sighing.
The Abbot whistled.
“It’s been some time I have seen the true form of a changeling.
You are mesmerising.”
He said.
“Sadly…I am…”
I nodded.
“Welcome home.”
He said, leading me out, ready to introduce me to the others.
The story about this order shall be an interesting one.
After all, I get dirt on everyone, and writing a positive article shall surely catch the eyes of many…