Clare of Assisi


Clare of Assisi

Detail depicting Saint Clare from a fresco (c. 1320) by Simone Martini in the Lower basilica of San Francesco, Assisi
Virgin
BornChiara Offreduccio
(1194-07-16)16 July 1194
Assisi, Duchy of Spoleto,
Holy Roman Empire
Died11 August 1253(1253-08-11) (aged 59)
Assisi, Papal States
Venerated inCatholic Church
Anglican Communion
Lutheran Church
Canonized26 September 1255, Rome by Pope Alexander IV
Major shrineBasilica of Saint Clare, Assisi
Feast11 August
AttributesMonstrance, pyx, lamp, crozier, habit of the Poor Clares
PatronageEye disease, goldsmiths, laundry, television, bicycle messengers, good weather, needleworkers, remote viewing, extrasensory perception, fertility, Santa Clara, California, Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, Obando, Bulacan

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 Italian saint 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 monastic religious 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.[1] 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.

  1. ^ Grau, Engelbert (1992). "Saint Clare's privilegium Paupertatis Its History and Significance". Greyfriars Review. 6 (3): 327.