Minister General is the term used for the leader or
Superior General of the different branches of the
Order of Friars Minor. It is a term exclusive to them, and comes directly from its founder, St.
Francis of Assisi. He chose this word over "Superior" out of his vision that the brothers of the Order were all to be equal, and that the
friar supervising his brothers was to be a servant who cared for (
ministered to) them, not one who lorded over them. The original term is
minister generalis in Latin and is found in Chapter 8 of the
Rule of St. Francis.