St. Clare of Assisi, one of St. Francis of Assisi’s earliest followers, was born the eldest daughter of the Offreduccio family on July 16, 1194 in Assisi, Italy. Her father, Favarone, was Count of Sasso-Rosso, and was affluent with roots from an ancient Roman family. He owned both a palace in Assisi and a castle on the Mount Subasio slope. Her mother, Ortolana, was a countess, and a member of the noble family of Fiumi. She was very devout and undertook pilgrimages to Rome, Santiago de Compostela and the Holy Land.
Clare and her siblings were taught, when young, the traditions of Christianity by their mother, Ortolana, resulting in Clare and her sisters becoming extremely religious and dedicated to prayer. In later life, Ortolana and Clare’s sisters (Beatrix and Catarina) would enter Clare’s Order of Poor Ladies. Catarina would later be known by the name Agnes, and eventually herself declared a saint.
As a teenager, Clare heard Francis preach many times in the streets of Assisi, and inspired by his words, and to avoid marriage expectations, Clare confided to Francis her desire to live for God, and the two became close friends. After asking his assistance to help her live a Gospel way of life, on the evening of Palm Sunday, March 20, 1212, with the approval of Guido II, Bishop of Assisi, Clare left her family’s house, escorted by an aunt and another companion, and travelled to the Chapel of the Portiuncula (Our Lady of the Angels Church) in Assisi, Italy to meet Francis. There, Clare’s hair was cut, and her expensive gown replaced with a plain robe and veil. (Note: The symbolic act of fully cutting a woman’s hair, at the time, indicated a woman was no longer bound by the laws of man or society, but that of the will of God)!
Although Clare’s father and other members of her family attempted to convince her to return home, she resisted each attempt, stating that she would have no other husband except Jesus Christ; and, it was only after seeing her cropped hair that her family conceded and left her in peace. And, to enable Clare to have the solitude she desired, Francis at that time sent her to a monastery of the Benedictine nuns on one of the flanks of Subasio. In time, however, a small dwelling was built for Clare and the Poor Clares next to the church of San Damiano, which Francis had repaired some years earlier. San Damiano became the center of Clare’s new religious order, which was known in her lifetime as the “Order of Poor Ladies of San Damiano“, and a monastic religious order for women following the Franciscan tradition. The Order of Poor Ladies was unique from other orders or convents because it followed a rule of extremely strict poverty. Clare’s Rule of Life is the first monastic set of instructions known to have been written by a woman. After her death, Clare’s original Order of Poor Ladies was renamed, in her honor, as the Order of Saint Clare, commonly referred to today as the Poor Clares.
Clare loved music and well-written sermons. She was humble, benevolent, pleasant, positive, gracious, and every day she meditated on the Passion of Jesus. She would often rise in the middle of the night to tuck in her sisters who had kicked off their blankets. Once, when her convent was about to be attacked, she displayed the Sacrament of the Eucharist in a monstrance at the convent gates, and prayed before it. The attackers left, the house saved, and the image of her holding a monstrance became one of her emblems. Her patronage of eyes (one of her many patronages) may have developed from her name, Clare, which means “bright” and “clear” – all associated with healthy eyes! Toward the end of her life, when she was too unwell to attend Mass, an image of the Mass service would appear on her cell wall; hence, her patronage of television!
Unlike the Franciscan friars at the time who travelled the country to preach, Clare’s sisters lived mainly in inclusion, since a travelling life for women at the time was implausible. Their life consisted therefore mainly of manual labor and prayer. The nuns went shoeless, slept on the ground, ate no meat, and lived in almost total silence – in compliance with the firm teachings of poverty assigned to Clare by Francis. Francis and Clare believed that poverty would bring them closer to Jesus since they would be living as He did. They welcomed this lifestyle, and believed it to be a blessing, as they were following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ Himself!
For a short period, the Order was directed by Francis himself, but in 1216, Clare hesitantly accepted the role of abbess of San Damiano, and was given more authority to lead the Order than when she was the prioress. Clare was never interested in titles or power within the Order, and became abbess only on the instruction of Francis. Clare described herself as mother, handmaid, or servant rather than an abbess. She was shy and uncomfortable with giving orders. On those occasions when she would give orders, she would do so with great humility and shyness. Clare would save the most tedious tasks for herself because she always wanted to take care of her sisters. Clare strived to imitate Francis’s virtues and way of life, and for that reason she was sometimes titled alter Franciscus “another Francis”! She was instrumental in encouraging and aiding Francis, whom she saw as a spiritual father, and took care of him during his final illness.
Following Francis’s death, Clare continued to promote the growth of her Order, writing letters to abbesses in other parts of Europe, including Agnes of Prague, with whom she had formed a close friendship. However, after Francis died, she encountered challenges (due to health concerns for her Order) in getting papal permission to approve a strict Rule of poverty based on Francis’ teaching and which her sisters could observe after her death. Eventually, her Rule was approved!
In her later years, Clare endured an extended period of poor health. She died on August 11, 1253 of natural causes at the age of 59. On her deathbed, Clare was heard to say to herself, “Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go forth without fear, for He Who created you has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Blessed be You, my God, for having created me.”
St. Clare was canonized on September 26, 1255 by Pope Alexander IV.