St. Clare

Yesterday the Church commemorated the feast of St. Clare, co-founder of the Second Order of St Francis, who from childhood was given to mortification and prayer. At the age if eighteen she was inspired by a Lenten course preached by St. Francis and begged him to help her live "after the manner of the holy Gospel", to which he agreed. On Palm Sunday she attended Mass at the cathedral and became enraptured during the distribution of palms, prompting the bishop to descend from the sanctuary to give her a palm. That very night she left home to be received by St. Francis, who cut her hair before clothing her in the habit and veil. At first she resided at a Benedictine monastery, where she was joined by her sister Agnes, but soon they and other followers of the Poverello were established in the chapel of San Damiano, forming the first community of Poor Clares.

Initially the community had no written rule since St. Francis told them to simply follow the evangelical counsels but during his absence abroad Cardinal Ugolino (later Gregory IX) wrote one based on the Rule of St. Benedict which allowed holding property in common. When St. Clare found the vow of absolute poverty had been relaxed, contrary to the intentions of St. Francis, she courageously resisted it and eventually Gregory granted the Poor Clares the privilege of absolute poverty. His successor Innocent IV likewise attempted to relax the rule but again St. Clare held her ground and the pope issued a bull securing for the order poverty in imitation of the Friars.

During her forty years as superior at San Damiano, St. Clare imitated St. Francis in her humility, mortification and poverty, while maintaining a special devotion to the Holy Eucharist. The latter was clearly demonstrated when the convent was besieged by Frederick II and rising from her sick bed, she calmly took the ciborium and exposed the Blessed Sacrament from a window, prompting the invaders to fall back and flee. On another occasion when the city was attacked, she gathered her daughters in prayer and a violent storm came upon the soldiers encampment.

On August 11, she beheld a choir of virgins, among whom was Our Lady, calling her to meet her divine Spouse. Having received the last sacraments from Cardinal Raimondo (who prepared the final version of the Rule after Innocent's bull and later became Pope Alexander IV) and a plenary indulgence from Innocent IV, she resigned her soul to God on August 12.