On 11 August the Church remembers Saint Clare of Assisi, founder of the Poor and is considered the patron saint of eye disease, goldsmiths, laundry and television, 1194 – 1253.

But who was Clare of Assisi?

In 1212 the 18-year-old Clare heard the preaching of Francis of Assisi. She was so moved by his life and teaching that she gave up her possessions and lifestyle and joined him at the Portiuncula, a small chapel on the plain below Assisi, where she made her vows of commitment to God.

Initially Francis arranged for Clare to live in a Benedictine house, but eventually she moved to San Damiano, just outside the town of Assisi when Francis and his followers had restored a house for her. As her reputation for poverty and holiness spread, other women who wished to live the life as taught by Francis came to join her, including her mother and sisters.

Clare was made abbess of this small community in 1215. The rule under which they lived was very austere, and included complete poverty. As with Francis, her followers soon began to found similar houses throughout Europe, with 47 being founded in Spain alone. Clare remained in Assisi for the rest of her life.

A remarkable contemplative, Clare cared deeply for the nuns in her charge. Her commitment to absolute poverty became an annoyance to the papal authorities, who tried to ensure that the community received a living allowance. It was a battle that Clare fought all her life.

As most of the order’s houses gradually relaxed the rule on complete poverty, Clare’s community at San Damiano in Assisi remained one of the very few which held on to absolute poverty as a cornerstone of the community’s ideals.

Stories soon grew up surrounding her, including the tale that twice she saved the city of Assisi from attack by her visible prayers in front of the attacking army. She would also undertake penance for the town in times of crisis.

Clare’s personal practice of contemplation included a daily meditation on the Passion of Christ. Here is an example: Place your mind before the mirror of eternity Place your soul in the brilliance of glory Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance And transform your whole being into the image of the Godhead itself through contemplation So that you too may feel what His friends feel as they taste the hidden sweetness which God has reserved from the beginning for those who love Him.

Clare was declared a saint by the Catholic Church in 1255. The Order of Poor Ladies was officially changed to the Order of Saint Clare in 1263 by Pope Urban IV.

Saint Clare was designated as the patron saint of television in 1958 by Pope Pius XII, because when Saint Clare was very ill, she could not attend mass and was reportedly able to see and hear it on the wall in her room.

A Prayer

God of peace,
who in the poverty of the blessed Clare
gave us a clear light to shine in the darkness of this world:
give us grace so to follow in her footsteps
that we may, at the last, rejoice with her in your eternal glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Revd Paul A. Carr and extract from Saints on Earth: A biographical companion to Common Worship by John H Darch and Stuart K Burns