Clare of Assisi

Clare was born in Assisi to the Offreduccio household during the High Middle Ages, the eldest daughter of Favarone or Favorino Sciffi, Count of Sasso-Rosso, and his wife Ortolana. Traditional accounts say that Clare's father was a wealthy representative of an ancient Roman family, who owned a large palace in Assisi and a castle on the slope of Mount Subasio. Ortolana belonged to the noble family of Fiumi, and was a very devout woman who had undertaken pilgrimages to Rome, Santiago de Compostela, and the Holy Land. Later in life, after being widowed, Ortolana entered Clare's monastery. Clare's younger sisters, Beatrix and Catarina, followed her into religious life. (The latter took the name Agnes and became an early abbess in the order. She established it in additional communities, and was declared a saint herself in the mid-18th century.) As children, Clare and her sisters were taught the ways of Christianity by their mother; they all became very religious and devoted to prayer. When Clare was 12 years old, her parents wanted her to marry a wealthy young man; however, she protested and said that she did not want to marry until she turned 18. As a teen, she heard Francis preach during a Lenten service in the church of San Giorgio at Assisi. Inspired by his words and knowing that marriage was rapidly approaching, Clare went to Francis and asked him to help her to live after the manner of the Gospel. == Life in the convent ==

, 1455. Francis placed Clare in the convent of the Benedictine nuns of San Paulo, near Bastia. Her father, along with other members of her family, attempted to convince her to return home. At first, they tried to persuade her by enticing her with wealth, and the privileges of nobility through marriage, but she resisted each attempt, professing that she would have no other husband but Jesus Christ. Finally, when they tried to use force she clung to the altar of the church and threw aside her veil to show her cropped hair. It was only after seeing her cropped hair that her family relented and left her in peace. San Damiano emerged as the most important house in the order, and Clare became its undisputed leader. By 1263, just ten years after Clare's death, the order had become known as the Order of Saint Clare. Unlike the Franciscan friars, whose members moved around the country to preach, Clare's sisters lived in enclosure, since an itinerant life was hardly conceivable at the time for women. Their life consisted of manual labour and prayer. The nuns went barefoot, slept on the ground, ate no meat, and observed almost complete silence. Clare referred to herself by such terms as mother, handmaid, or servant rather than an abbess. from the pope would allow her order to keep living in strict poverty as they wanted. Although Innocent III had approved Clare's privilege and his successor Honorius III had no issue with it, Honorius III's successor Gregory IX did have a problem with Clare's lifestyle of strict poverty. Gregory IX was the Cardinal Huglino who had previously known and worked with Clare and her order at San Damiano. During this time, he came to care for Clare and she became very dear to him. Gregory IX worried that the health of the sisters would suffer unduly under the strict vow of poverty Clare wanted. During a visit to San Damiano, Gregory IX urged Clare to give up her way of strict poverty, stating that "if you fear because of your vow, We dispense you from it", to which she immediately responded, "Holy Father, never and in no way do I wish to be dispensed from following Christ!" At that moment, the Pope had no more objections, and during his second year as Pope reapproved the . == Late life ==

Following the Order's approval from the Pope, Clare wanted to make a Rule based on Francis's teachings, In her later years, Clare endured a long period of poor health. She died on 11 August 1253 at the age of 59, one day after having her Rule approved by Pope Innocent IV. Her last words are reported to have been, "Blessed be You, O God, for having created me." == Death ==

, Assisi On 9 August 1253 two days before her death, the papal bull Solet anymore of Pope Innocent IV confirmed that Clare's rule would serve as the governing rule for Clare's Order of Poor Ladies. Her remains were interred at the chapel of San Giorgio while a church to hold her remains was being constructed. At her funeral, Pope Innocent IV insisted the friars perform the Office for the Virgin Saints as opposed to the Office for the Dead. This move by Pope Innocent ensured that the canonization process for Clare would begin shortly after her funeral. Pope Innocent was cautioned by multiple advisers against having the Office for the Virgin Saints performed at Clare's funeral. The most vocal of these advisers was Cardinal Raynaldus, who would later become Pope Alexander IV and, in two years' time, would canonize Clare. At Pope Innocent's request the canonization process for Clare began immediately. While the whole process took two years, the examination of Clare's miracles took just six days. On 26 September 1255, Pope Alexander IV canonized Clare as Saint Clare of Assisi. Construction of the Basilica of Saint Clare was completed in 1260, and on 3 October of that year Clare's remains were transferred to the newly completed basilica where they were buried beneath the high altar. In further recognition of the saint, Pope Urban IV officially changed the name of the Order of Poor Ladies to the Order of Saint Clare in 1263. On her deathbed, Clare was heard to say to herself, "Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go forth without fear, for He Who created you has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Blessed be You, my God, for having created me." Some 600 years later in 1872, Clare's relics were transferred to a newly constructed shrine in the crypt of the Basilica of Saint Clare, where her relics can still be venerated today. == Legacy ==

Clare was canonized on 26 September 1255 by Pope Alexander IV, There are traditions of offering chicken eggs to the Poor Clares so they may pray for good weather, especially for weddings. This tradition has remained popular in the Philippines, particularly at the Real Monasterio de Santa Clara in Quezon City, and Obando, Bulacan. According to the Filipino essayist Alejandro Roces, the practice arose because of a similarity to Clare's name: the Castilian clara refers to an interval of clear weather, and egg white (albumen). Many places, including churches, convents, schools, hospitals, towns, and counties, are named for Saint Clare, Santa Clara, or other variants. Lake Saint Clair, between Lake Erie and Lake Huron, was navigated and named on her feast day in 1679. The Saint Clair River, St. Clair Shores, Michigan, and St. Clair County, Michigan were also consequently named for her. Mission Santa Clara, founded by Spanish missionaries in Northern California in 1777, has given its name to the university, city, county, and Santa Clara Valley, the valley in which it sits, the latter of which has been famously nicknamed "Silicon Valley" since the 1970s. Some to the southeast of Santa Clara Valley, Southern California's Santa Clara River gave its name to the nearby city of Santa Clarita. The early California missions were founded by Franciscan Friars, who had a special devotion to Saint Clare. Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, celebrates its Santa Clara Feast Day annually on 12 August, as the feast was celebrated before the 1969 calendar change. The first convent in Cuba, Convento de Santa Clara de Asis, was dedicated to Saint Clare, as well as her namesake city and its cathedral, Catedral de Santa Clara de Asís. Columbus's ship known as Niña, which visited Cuba twice, was officially named Santa Clara. Clare is one of five characters in the oratorio ''Laudato si''', composed in 2016 by Peter Reulein on a libretto by Helmut Schlegel, the others being an angel, Mary, Francis of Assisi, and Pope Francis. Clare of Assisi is remembered in the Church of England and other churches of the Anglican Communion with a Lesser Festival on 11 August. She was played by Dolores Hart - who later became a nun herself - in the 1961 film Francis of Assisi. == In Art ==

File:Dietisalvi di speme, dittico di s. chiara, 1280 ca.JPG|Guido da Siena, Diptych of St. Clare (1260) File:Santa Chiara d'Assisi.jpg|Master of Saint Clare, Saint Clare Altarpiece (1283) File:The Bishop of Assisi Giving a Palm to Saint Clare (1360).jpg|alt=The Bishop of Assisi hands a palm to St. Clare. An open book on the altar reads, ‘erodes fideles’ (faithful hermits).|The Bishop of Assisi Giving a Palm to Saint Clare (1360) File:Tiberio of Assisi, Saint Clare of Assisi (early 16c).jpg|alt=St. Clare holds a stalk of lilies and a closed book.|Tiberio of Assisi, Saint Clare of Assisi (early 16th c) File:Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Lazzaro Morelli, St. Clare (1667–1668).jpg|alt=St. Clare holds a monstrance aloft|Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Lazzaro Morelli, St. Clare (1667–1668) == See also ==