The Friars Minor Were Defenders of the Immaculate Conception as Early as the Middle Ages
Source: Google Books
We know of the division that reigned in the Middle Ages between the two schools, the Dominicans and the Franciscans, concerning the Immaculate Conception.
In order to put an end to debates that were sometimes too passionate, Pope Benedict XI ordered, in 1304, a public discussion at the University of Paris. Duns Scotus was entrusted by the General of the Friars Minor, Father Gonzalvo, to represent the Order in this tournament of a new kind, and to uphold there the traditional and pious belief of the Franciscans; and for this purpose he came from Oxford to Paris.