St. Clare of Assisi (1193-1253)
August 11
The Foundress of the Franciscan Second Order was born into nobility. Clare’s parents, Favarone and Ortolana, were part of Assisi’s "upper class." They and their three daughters once had to flee to nearby Perugia when the merchants & artisans of Assisi expelled the nobles and destroyed their homes. They remained there between 1198 and 1202.
Even as a young girl, Clare
showed a love of prayer and of the poor. She was also fascinated by Francis
Bernardone, who by 1209 already had eleven followers. She felt called to live the
Gospel of Jesus Christ as a nun. On the evening of March 18, 1212, she stole away to the
Portiuncula, the church of the "Little Portion" which had become the headquarters for the Franciscan friars. There she exchanged her beautiful golden hair for a nun’s veil. Her noble gown was set aside for a common dress and cord belt. She was soon joined by her
sister Agnes, who is also a saint honored on November 19th. They lived temporarily with
the Benedictine sisters.
In May of that same year, Clare and Agnes
moved to San Damiano, which soon became the birthplace of the Poor Clare
movement. They were known as the “Poor Ladies of San Damiano.” The
work of their hands and the begging of the friars supplied their very modest
needs.
In 1216, Clare reluctantly accepted the title of abbess in accord with the Fourth Lateran Council. However, she was always ready to perform the humblest duties at San Damiano. After 1225 she was almost constantly sick and confined to bed. As an excellent seamstress and embroiderer and with great devotion, she made corporals, altar linens, and albs for nearby churches. Although Clare considered herself the “little plant” of St. Francis and was always grateful for whatever direction he could give the San Damiano nuns, it would be a mistake to think of Clare as a pale reflection of Francis or to underestimate her uniqueness and her determination to live the gospel simply and courageously within a cloistered setting. Popes, cardinals, and bishops sought her advice.
In the thirteenth century, contemplative life was the only form of religious life for women that was officially recognized by the Church. Women religious would not run schools and hospitals until the 14th and 15th centuries. Even though Clare established a contemplative group, she did break with tradition—not without a fight—by rejecting a fixed income for its support. Contemplative nuns like the Benedictines had always been supported by revenues from lands owned by their communities and dowries they brought with them. This “privilege of poverty,” as Clare called it, was not easy to secure in writing. Several popes worried that such a life would be too difficult for women. Two days before she died, Clare at last gained this “privilege” from the Pope at that time, Innocent IV. Her exemplary life and the witness of the other Franciscan women prompted rich and poor women throughout Europe to join Poor Clare monasteries, wanting to also be brides of Jesus.
As Clare lay dying, her confessor urged her to be patient amid her sufferings. Clare answered, “Dearest brother, ever since I have known the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ through his servant Francis, no suffering has troubled me, no penance has been hard, no sickness too arduous” (Legend and Writings of St. Clare of Assisi, p. 49). She was canonized by Pope Alexander IV in 1255, two years after her death. She is the patron of goldsmiths, laundry, television, and against eye disease.
