Saint clare short biography

St. Claire of Assisi

Lived: 1194-1253

Feast Day: August 11

Saint Clare is believed to have been born on July 16, 1194 in Assisi. While there is uncertainty to the exact date of her birth, there is no question to the fact that she was the oldest of three girls of the wealthy Offreduccio Family. There was nothing extraordinary of her early years. Clare along with her sisters enjoyed the life of a rich family of the times.

Clare spent her youthful days learning music, fine embroidery and how to entertain guests at social gatherings. A woman of Clare’s status had no need of cooking skills since she would always have servants in the kitchen.

Clare’s mother, Ortolana, was very religious and taught all her children about Jesus and the importance of Sunday Mass and prayer. Clare’s father, Faverone, was happy about the beautiful and gentle woman she was becoming. By her seventeenth year he had found her a wealthy man to be her husband.

Clare seemed to be the luckiest girl in the world. She had it all – but she did not feel as happy and peaceful as she thought she should. There were many poor people in Assisi and the surrounding towns and this at times disturbed her.

While growing up, Clare was very popular at the parties held for the wealthy young people of Assisi. No doubt she first met St. Francis at such events before he left all worldly goods behind.

When she was about 17 Clare again met Francis. This time he and his brothers were enthusiastically preaching about Jesus and caring for the poor. This message and the tremendous joy that Francis and his followers demonstrated challenged Clare to think about her own life. She found Francis and his brothers to be filled with more peace than her father and uncles who were some of the most successful men in Assisi. But they were always worried about someone or something.

Clare went to the Lenten Sermons Francis preached in 1211 and then met privately with him. They spoke of the beauty of povert

Foundress of the Franciscan Second Order and saint

This article is about an Italian saint. For other saints with similar names, see Saint Clare (disambiguation). For other people named Clare, see Clare (disambiguation).

Chiara Offreduccio (16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253), known as Clare of Assisi (sometimes spelled Clara, Clair or Claire; Italian: Chiara d'Assisi), is an Italiansaint who was one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi.

Inspired by the teachings of St. Francis, she founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monasticreligious order for women in the Franciscan tradition. The Order of Poor Ladies was different from any other order or convent because it followed a rule of strict poverty. Clare 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 11 August.

Early life

Clare was born in Assisi to the Offreduccio household during the High Middle Ages, the eldest daugh

Image: Saint Clare | original painting for the Poor Clares in Cincinnati, OH

Saint of the Day for August 11

(July 16, 1194 – August 11, 1253)

Saint Clare of Assisi’s Story

One of the more sugary movies made about Francis of Assisi pictures Clare as a golden-haired beauty floating through sun-drenched fields, a sort of one-woman counterpart to the new Franciscan Order.

The beginning of her religious life was indeed movie material. Having refused to marry at 15, Clare was moved by the dynamic preaching of Francis. He became her lifelong friend and spiritual guide.

At 18, Clare escaped from her father’s home one night, was met on the road by friars carrying torches, and in the poor little chapel called the Portiuncula received a rough woolen habit, exchanged her jeweled belt for a common rope with knots in it, and sacrificed her long tresses to Francis’ scissors. He placed her in a Benedictine convent, which her father and uncles immediately stormed in rage. Clare clung to the altar of the church, threw aside her veil to show her cropped hair, and remained adamant.

Sixteen days later her sister Agnes joined her. Others came. They lived a simple life of great poverty, austerity, and complete seclusion from the world, according to a Rule which Francis gave them as a Second Order. At age 21, Francis obliged Clare under obedience to accept the office of abbess, one she exercised until her death.

The Poor Ladies went barefoot, slept on the ground, ate no meat, and observed almost complete silence. Later Clare, like Francis, persuaded her sisters to moderate this rigor: “Our bodies are not made of brass.” The greatest emphasis, of course, was on gospel poverty. They possessed no property, even in common, subsisting on daily contributions. When even the pope tried to persuade Clare to mitigate this practice, she showed her characteristic firmness: “I need to be absolved from my sins, but I do not wish to be absolved from the o

(1194-1253)

Who Was Saint Clare of Assisi?

Saint Clare of Assisi was born into a wealthy Italian family but soon shunned her luxurious upbringing to embrace the life of piety and poverty. Inspired by the words of Francis of Assisi, Clare fled her home and joined Francis, establishing her own religious order. The group became known for their austere and devout lifestyle and for the power of their prayer, which is credited with saving Assisi from invaders twice. After Francis' death, Clare continued his work and broadened her own influence. Clare died in 1253 and was canonized two years later by Pope Alexander IV.

Early Years

Clare was born in Assisi, Italy, in 1193 to wealthy parents, and was taught to read and write as well as spin yarn and do needlework. She had little interest in her luxurious surroundings (she lived in a palace), and influenced by her mother's religious devotion, Clare dedicated her life to God at an early age. She also showed early on that her calling would involve helping the poor, as she set aside food from her family table to give to the needy on the streets.

Francis of Assisi's Influential Visit

When Clare was 18, Francis of Assisi came to preach in the church of San Giorgio at Assisi. Inspired by his words, Clare asked Francis to help her in dedicating her life to God, and he vowed to do so. The following year (1211), Clare's parents chose a wealthy young man for Clare to marry, but she pointedly refused, fleeing soon after for the Porziuncola Chapel, where Francis received her. She took vows dedicating her life to God, and that moment, occurring on March 20, 1212, marked the beginning of the Second Order of Saint Francis.

A Life of God

Clare's sister Agnes soon joined her, and they moved to the Church of San Damiano, recently rebuilt by Francis. It wasn't long before other women joined them, and San Damiano's residents, known for their ascetic lifestyle, became known as the "Poor Ladies." (Kn