Summary: Franciscan history has been a very disputed field of study due to the practical consequences which its comprehension promotes. This article tries to study the process that leads to a new standard in the Franciscan view of its own origins during the twentieth century, and especially after the Second Vatican Council. The institutional analysis is applied to show the intimate link between history and institution, and the need for a new historical understanding in order to promote a new institutional order. Such a conclusion leads to a new critical approach to the entire process of re-definition of Franciscan identity in the last decades.