Born: July 16, 1194, Assisi, duchy of Spoleto [Italy]
Died: Aug 11, 1253, Assisi; canonized 1255;
feast day August 11
Saint Clare of Assisi was an Italian nun, born in Assisi of a rich and noble family. In 1211, she heard the Italian monk and preacher St. Francis of Assisi preach, and, inspired by his eloquence, she entered the Order of the Franciscans the following year. With the help and advice of St. Francis and despite the opposition of her family, she founded the order of Franciscan nuns known as the Order of the Poor Ladies, commonly called Poor Clares. The first monastery of Poor Clares was founded in the United States in 1875; in the 1990s there were 24 autonomous motherhouses. Some 500 monasteries extant throughout the world have a total membership of about 12,000. Clare was canonized in 1255. Her feast day is August 11.
