St. Clare of Assisi

Born in Assisi in 1194, Clare was the daughter of a wealthy knight and a spiritual mother who was known for her work with the sick and poor.From an early age Clare shared her mother’s devotion, exhibiting distaste for worldly things and craving a more spiritual life.

After learning about Francis of Assisi and his manner of living the Gospel life, Clare secretly left home to join him and the Friars Minor in Portiuncula. Francis immediately recognized Clare’s spiritual devotion, gave her a rough tunic to replace her fine clothes, and cut her hair, the medieval sign of giving oneself totally to God. When Clare’s male relatives came to bring her home, the young woman clung to the altar of the little church and could not be moved. Upon seeing Clare’s shorn hair, the men understood that she had committed herself to God and returned home alone.

Francis arranged for Clare to live with the Benedictine Sisters and learn about religious life, its meaning and customs. When she returned to Portiuncula, the Order of the Poor Clares was established, and Clare’s mother, sister, and several other women joined her. Initially the group ministered to the poor, but gradually they became cloistered, as was the custom for religious women during that period.

As Francis had done, Clare and her Sisters lived according to the Gospel. She wanted all members to participate in important decisions about the monastery and believed that each person has some wisdom to offer the group. During that period, it was common for groups of religious women to support themselves financially by renting property they owned to farmers and herdsmen and by selling cloth and embroidered linens. Clare of Assisi rejected this practice and believed that the Sisters should rely completely on God’s generosity as expressed through the almsgiving of others. This “privilege of poverty” was the hallmark of the Rule of Clare, a set of guidelines for living the Gospel life. Many monasteries throughout Europe adopted the Rule, rather than less stringent guidelines that were common among other groups of religious women.

If you seek to know Jesus, gaze upon him; consider him;
contemplate him as you desire to imitate him.
— St. Clare of Assisi