Saint Clare of Assisi

July 16, 1194 (age 59)

Assisi, Italy

At 18, the preaching of St. Francis of Assisi inspired her to enter religious life. Despite the attempts of relatives to force a marriage upon her, she held to her purpose. In 1215, St. Francis appointed her abbess of a convent near Assisi, a post that she held for almost 40 years. She soon saw convents founded in many towns of Italy, France, and Germany which followed her austere rule. She bore the illness of her last 27 years with marvelous patience, dying in Assisi on August 11, 1253, in the 42nd year of her vocation. Clare was canonized on 26 September 1255 by Pope Alexander IV, and her feast day was immediately inserted in the General Roman Calendar for celebration on 12 August, the day after her death, as 11 August was already assigned to Saints Tiburtius and Susanna, two 3rd-century Roman martyrs. The celebration was ranked as a Double (as in the Tridentine Calendar) or, in the terminology adopted in 1960, a Third-Class Feast (as in the General Roman Calendar of 1960). The 1969 calendar revision removed the feast of Tiburtius and Susanna from the calendar, finally allowing the memorial of Saint Clare to be celebrated on 11 August, the day of her death.

Saint Clare of Assisi

Edit Profile

founder nun abbess

Background

St. Clare was born in Assisi on July 16, 1194, the eldest daughter of Favorino Sciffi, Count of Sasso-Rosso and his wife Ortolana.

Career

At 18, the preaching of St. Francis of Assisi inspired her to enter religious life. Despite the attempts of relatives to force a marriage upon her, she held to her purpose. In 1215, St. Francis appointed her abbess of a convent near Assisi, a post that she held for almost 40 years. She soon saw convents founded in many towns of Italy, France, and Germany which followed her austere rule. She bore the illness of her last 27 years with marvelous patience, dying in Assisi on August 11, 1253, in the 42nd year of her vocation.

Clare was canonized on 26 September 1255 by Pope Alexander IV, and her feast day was immediately inserted in the General Roman Calendar for celebration on 12 August, the day after her death, as 11 August was already assigned to Saints Tiburtius and Susanna, two 3rd-century Roman martyrs. The celebration was ranked as a Double (as in the Tridentine Calendar) or, in the terminology adopted in 1960, a Third-Class Feast (as in the General Roman Calendar of 1960). The 1969 calendar revision removed the feast of Tiburtius and Susanna from the calendar, finally allowing the memorial of Saint Clare to be celebrated on 11 August, the day of her death.

Achievements

She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic religious order for women in the Franciscan tradition, and wrote their Rule of Life, the first set of monastic guidelines known to have been written by a woman. Following her death, the order she founded was renamed in her honor as the Order of Saint Clare, commonly referred to today as the Poor Clares. Her feast day is on the 11th of August.

Connections

Father:: Favorino Sciffi
Mother:: Ortolana

References

Clare of Assisi and the Thirteenth-Century Church Religious Women, Rules, and Resistance (The Middle Ages Series).
The Privilege of Poverty: Clare of Assisi, Agnes of Prague, and the Struggle for a Franciscan Rule for Women
St. Clare of Assisi: Light From the Cloister
Clare of Assisi - The Lady: Early Documents
Clare of Assisi: A Heart Full of Love
Great Russian Encyclopedia

Main Photo