On July 16, 1194, St. Clare of Assisi was born at Assisi as Chiara Offreduccio, the lovely eldest child of Favorino Sciffi, Count of Sasso-Rosso, and his wife Ortolana. Her mother was foretold that her daughter would be a shining light of God in the world even before she was born. She was already very strongly drawn to the things of God as a little kid, praying ardently, making frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and displaying a great love for the underprivileged.

She listened to St. Francis of Assisi preach during a Lenten service at the San Giorgio church when she was 18 years old and pleaded with him to assist her in living according to the Gospel. Clare left her father's house on Palm Sunday in 1212 and proceeded to the Porziuncula chapel to see Francis. Clare was given a basic robe and veil in place of her expensive gown while she was there, and her hair was also cut off.

Under Francis' orders, Clare entered the Benedictine sisters' convent of San Paulo, in Bastia. She resisted her father's attempts to compel her back into his house when he found her and made the declaration that she would only ever be married to Jesus Christ. Francis transferred Clare to Sant' Angelo in Panzo, another convent for Benedictine women, to provide her with the increased isolation she craved.

Catarina, Clare's sister, joined her at the monastery and adopted the name Agnes. The two stayed there until a separate home was constructed for them close to the San Damiano church.

They were eventually joined by other women who desired to live in poverty and be brides of Jesus. They earned the moniker "Poor Ladies of San Damiano." They all followed a Rule that Francis gave them as a Second Order, leading basic lives of austerity, isolation from the outside world, and poverty. St. Clare and her sisters didn't eat meat, didn't wear shoes, lived in a run-down house, and mostly stayed quiet. Their days were spent working and praying. However, they were content since they could always feel The Lord's presence.

San Damiano became the centre of Clare's new order, which was subsequently known as the "Order of Poor Ladies of San Damiano." After briefly serving as the order's leader, St. Francis, Clare took over as San Damiano's abbess in 1216. The order changed its name to the Order of Saint Clare ten years following Clare's passing.

When Clare was in charge of her order, she fought to protect them from prelates who wanted to impose a rule on them that was more like the Rule of Saint Benedict than the Rule of Saint Francis. Clare was known as "alter Franciscus," or another Francis, because of her unwavering devotion to him. She assisted the man, whom she regarded as a spiritual father figure, and cared for him as he grew older.

Clare continued to advance her order after Francis passed away, thwarting every attempt by a pope to enforce a rule that would weaken their "radical commitment to corporate poverty."

In 1224, Frederick II sent an army of tough troops to invade Assisi. Despite being ill, Clare went outside to meet them while holding the Blessed Sacrament. The Blessed Sacrament was positioned near the wall where the enemies might view it. Then, while bowing down, she prayed to God to spare the Sisters.

"O Lord, protect these Sisters whom I cannot protect now," she prayed. A voice seemed to answer: "I will keep them always in My care." The attackers were suddenly terrified at that precise moment, and they took off as quickly as they could without hurting anyone in Assisi.

St. Clare fell ill and endured excruciating suffering for several years, but she declared that she was unaffected by pain. Her joy in serving the Lord was so great that she once remarked, "They say that we are too poor, but can a heart which possesses the infinite God be truly called poor?"

Clare's rule became the guiding principle for Clare's Order of Poor Ladies on August 9, 1253, according to a proclamation by Pope Innocent IV. Clare passed away at the age of 59 two days later. During the construction of the church where her remains would be interred, her remains were kept in the San Giorgio chapel. Clare was promptly put through the canonization process at Pope Innocent's request, and two years later, in 1255, Pope Alexander IV canonized Clare as Saint Clare of Assisi.

The Basilica of Saint Clare was completed in 1260, and on October 3, 1260, Clare's remains were moved there and interred beneath the high altar. Her remains were moved once more to a recently built shrine in the crypt of the Basilica of Saint Clare about 600 years later. Her body is no longer said to be incorrupt.

Pope Urban IV altered the Order of Poor Ladies' name to the Order of Saint Clare in 1263.

Pope Pius XII named St. Clare the patron saint of television in 1958 because, when St. Clare was very ill and unable to attend mass, it is said that she was nevertheless able to see and hear it projected on the wall of her chamber. She also serves as a patron saint for laundry, goldsmiths, and eye diseases.

Clare is sometimes depicted with a monstrance or pyx to remember the time she used the Blessed Sacrament to ward off troops at the gates of her monastery. The feast day of St. Clare is celebrated on August 11.

Other Saints of the Day

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Saint Attracta

Saint Lelia

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