Saint Clare of Assisi. Disciple of St. Francis of Assisi

St. Clare of Assisi was one of the first followers and a beloved disciple of St. Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic religious order for women in the Franciscan tradition, and wrote her Rule of Life, the first set of monastic guidelines known to have been written by a woman. After her death, the order she founded was renamed in her honor as the Order of St. Clare, commonly referred to today as the Poor Ladies.

Celebration: August 11.

Roman Martyrology: Memory of St. Clare of Assisi, a virgin, who, first filming the Poor Ladies of the Order of Friars Minor, followed St. Francis, which led her to lead a very hard life in Assisi, in Umbria, but which was rich in works of charity and mercy; she was a great lover of poverty, from which she would never depart, not even in extreme poverty and sickness.

Biography of St. Clare of Assisi.

St. Clare was born in Assisi, Italy, in 1193. Her conversion to a life of complete holiness was effected by hearing a sermon of St. Francis of Assisi. When she was 18 years old, St. Francis preached the Lenten sermons in Assisi and there insisted that in order to have full freedom to follow Jesus Christ, one must be free from wealth and material goods.

In secret, St. Clare of Assisi went in search of the saint to ask him to instruct her on how to achieve Christian perfection. He told her that she had to detach herself from everything, encouraged her to leave the life of wealth and comfort she was leading and dedicate herself to a life of poverty, prayer and penance.

St. Francis of Assisi made St. Clare go and live next to the Church of San Damiano in Assisi, in a poor and humble little house. And behold, her sister Agnes and her own mother decided to become nuns with her as well.

And many more girls were attracted by this life of prayer and recollection, and so soon the convent was full of women dedicated to holiness.

St. Clare: superior full of charity.

St. Francis appointed St. Clare of Assisi as superior of the community, and even though she tried all her life to give up the position of superior and dedicate herself to being a simple little nun of the second order.

However, for forty years she would be the prioress of the convent and the nuns would not accept any other in her place as long as she lived, because her way of exercising authority was very pleasant and full of charity.

St. Clare of Assisi served the table, washed the dishes, attended to the sick, and with all of them she was like a true little mother full of understanding and mercy.

Within a few years there were already convents of Poor Clares in Italy, France, Germany and Czechoslovakia. These nuns did very special penances, inspired by the example of their holy foundress who was the first to dedicate herself to penance. They did not wear stockings or shoes, they abstained perpetually from meat, and they spoke only if forced by some serious need or charity.

St. Clare of Assisi recommended silence to them as a remedy to avoid innumerable sins of language and to keep themselves in union with God, and away from the harmful distractions of the world, for if there is no silence, worldliness inevitably enters the convent.

Following the teachings and examples of her master St. Francis, St. Clare of Assisi wanted her convents to be free of wealth and income of any kind. And although she was often offered gifts of goods to ensure the future of her nuns, she did not want to accept them. She wrote to the Supreme Pontiff who was offering her an income for her convent:

"Holy Father, I beg you not to absolve me or free me from the obligation I have to be poor as Jesus Christ was.

To those who told her that she had to think about the future, St. Clare of Assisi answered with those words of Jesus:

"My heavenly father, who feeds the birds of the field, will know how to feed us too".

Miracles of Saint Clare of Assisi.

Two days before Clare died, Pope Innocent IV finally approved her request to change the rule that governed her convent from the order of the Benedictine spirit to one of the newly established Franciscan rule. The order became known for its life of poverty and its committed life of prayer, a prayer that Clare used to achieve worldly victories that are credited to the salvation of Assisi on two occasions.

The first was when Clare raised the Host in a window, causing the invading troops of Frederick II to retreat. On the second occasion, the people of Assisi were again attacked. Clare and her nuns prayed for the safety of their city, and a storm swept away and dispersed the attackers.

[St. Clare of Assisi holds the Holy Host in her hands, as a sign of her love for God and for His miracle]

It was so much his love for God that one day he would say:

"I come, Lord, to your sanctuary to see the life and nourishment of my soul. As I hope in you, O Lord, inspire me with that trust that leads me to your holy mountain. Allow me, Divine Jesus, to draw near to You, so that my whole soul may pay homage to the greatness of Your majesty; so that my heart, with its most tender affections, may recognize Your infinite love; so that my memory may dwell on the admirable mysteries which are renewed here every day, and so that the sacrifice of my whole being may accompany Yours.

St. Clare cared for St. Francis of Assisi towards the end of his life and was with him when he died in 1226. Later, in spite of her poor health, St. Clare continued to promote the growth of her order until her death in 1253.

The martyrdom of the disease.

Today there are 18,000 Poor Clares in 1,248 convents in the world. Our saint was sick for 27 years, but her illness she endured with heroic patience.

On her deathbed, St. Clare of Assisi embroidered and sewed, and prayed without ceasing. The Supreme Pontiff visited her twice and exclaimed: "I wish I had as little need to be forgiven as this holy little nun".

Cardinals and bishops often visited St. Clare of Assisi to ask for her wise counsel.

St. Francis of Assisi had already died, and three of the saint´s favorite disciples, Friar Juniper, Friar Angel and Friar Leo, read to St. Clare of Assisi the Passion of Jesus while she was dying. The saint repeated:

"Since I have dedicated myself to think and meditate on the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ, already the pains and sufferings do not discourage me but console me".

On August 10, 1253, at the age of 60 and 41 years of being a religious, St. Clare of Assisi went to heaven to receive her prize. On a day like today she was buried. In August 1255, Pope Alexander IV canonized St. Clare of Assisi, and today the Order of St. Clare has more than 20,000 sisters throughout the world, with more than 70 countries represented.

St. Clare of Assisi, never cease to pray to God for us. 

Prayer to St. Clare of Assisi

Faithful St. Clare of Assisi, beloved daughter of the Church, friend and confidant of the Popes, she intercedes for the Holy Catholic Church. Look down gently from heaven upon our Holy Father, Pope Francis. Enlighten our spirit to banish from our souls all that obstructs the progress of the Church on earth. Grant us all that we may share your great love for the Church of God and spread his Kingdom on earth by a life full of holiness. You, who worked miracles in the presence of the Popes here on earth, give us the graces we need, now that you have placed yourself in the presence of the Most High God in heaven. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Himself. Amen.