Saint Claire of Assisi
Saint Claire of Assisi
Born: July 16, 1194
Died: August 11, 1253
Canonized: September 26, 1255 by Pope Alexander IV
Attributes: Monstrance, pyx, lamp, habit of the Poor Clares
Patronage: Eye disease, goldsmiths, laundry, television, good weather, needleworkers
Feast Day: 11 August
Saint Claire of Assisi is an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic religious order for women in the Franciscan tradition that would later become known as the Order of Poor Clares.
Claire was born as Chiara Offreduccio into a wealthy Italian family and was said to spend much of her early life in prayer. She heard Saint Francis preach during a Lenten service in the church of San Giorgio at Assisi when she was 18, and she told him she would like to live her life in the manner of the Gospel.
On the evening of Palm Sunday in 1212, she left her father’s house and went to the chapel of the Porziuncula, where they cut her hair and she exchanged her beautiful clothes for a plain robe and veil.
She began her service to Christ in the convent of the Benedictine nuns of San Paulo, near Bastia, Italy. Saint Francis sent her to Sant’ Angelo in Panzo, where she lived with her sister Catarina (Saint Agnes) and other women next to the church of San Damiano.
They formed the order and were known as the “Poor Ladies of San Damiano” because they lived a secluded life of poverty, work and austerity. They went barefoot, ate no meat, slept on the ground and rarely spoke.
Claire often encouraged and aided Saint Francis, who she considered to be a spiritual father figure. She was so dedicated to following his virtues and way of life that she was sometimes known as “another Francis.” She cared for Francis during his final illness.
She died on August 11, 1253 and after her death, the order she founded was renamed in her honor as the Order of Saint Claire, known as the Poor Claires.
She was canonized by Pope Alexander IV on August 15, 1255. Her remains are in The Basilica di Santa Chiara in Assisi, Italy.
