St. Clare of Assisi
1194-1253
📅 Feast Day: Aug 11
📖 Life Timeline
1194
Born in July 1194 AD, Assisi, Italy
1193
CLARE of ASSISI (St) V
1268
ARE of MONTEFALCO (St) V
1308
f MONTEFALCO (St) V
1253
Died — August 11, 1253 AD, San Damiano
1255
Canonized — 1255 by Pope Alexander IV
1253
Died August 11 in San Damiano; canonized 1255 by Pope Innocent IV
✝ Biography
CLARE of ASSISI (St) V. Foundress R.M. Aug. 12 c. 1193-12538. Born at Assisi. At the age of eighteen she was irresistibly drawn to the ideal of Christian poverty preached by St Francis. She ran away from home and took the veil from St Francis himself, who provided a refuge for her with the Benedictine nuns of San Paolo and finally at San Damiano, where the first convent of Poor Clares was established under her guidance. She governed it for forty years, and popes, cardinals and bishops came to consult her. She was indeed as much instrumental in the rapid spreading of the Franciscan movement as St Francis himself. She was canonized two years after her death. In art she is usually rep- resented with a monstrance in her hand in memory of her having in this attitude miraculously saved her convent from assault. Cf. Att. — Baud. — Holw.
CLARE of MONTEFALCO (St) V. O.S.A.
R.M. Aug. 17 c. 1268-1308. Surnamed Clare of the Cross. She was a native of Montefalco, in the diocese of Spoleto. She joined a con
🛡 Patronage
Patron of: Weavers, TV broadcasters, radio, the Poor Clares, and those seeking to live in poverty.
💬 Words of the Saint
May I never be satisfied with anything that is less than Christ.
📜 Key Facts
Born
July 1194 AD, Assisi, Italy
Died
August 11, 1253 AD, San Damiano
Feast Day
Aug 11
Canonized
1255 by Pope Alexander IV
🕊 Legacy
Clare's order — the Poor Clares — exists in every continent. Her rule of radical poverty influenced all female religious orders. She proved that women could be spiritual leaders of the highest order.
📜 Personal Writings
Read excerpts from the saint's own words — their personal letters, spiritual writings, and teachings.
📖 Letter to Innocent IV
On the Life of Poverty
I, Clare, unworthy and most abject slave of the servanthood of the Servant of God and of the servants of the servants of God, to the Most Holy Father Innocent, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God. I beseech you, Holy Father, that you grant me the favor of living in the most holy observance of the most holy Rule of poverty.
— St. Clare of Assisi
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