The Order of St. Clare has existed since the 13th century. Behind its establishment stood St. Francis and St. Clare. Their conversion, life and testimony of faith were a sign of the times in the Church. What is today known as the Order of Saint Clare of Assisi has grown from both the supernatural workings of God’s grace and particular human decisions.
Signs of Divine Grace
In her Testament, St. Clare recalls the involvement of St. Francis in the renovation of San Damiano Church following his conversion. That is where St. Francis had a vision of the crucified Christ, who spoke to him with these words: “Francis, go and rebuild my church, since, as you can see, it is in ruins”
Moved by this grace, Francis began his life of atonement and devoted himself to carrying out the task. During the works, he often called out to the passers-by, incentivizing them to help:
“I am preparing a place for sisters, who with their prayer and life of holiness will bring glory to the Heavenly Father in the entire Church.”
That is what St. Francis of Assisi had said six years before the event St. Clare called her conversion. Biographers and modern historians see in this the workings of grace as well as prophetic revelations. Clare, only a twelve-year-old girl then, was the future animator of of spiritual and monastic life in San Damiano.
Historical Facts
The events which led to the foundation of the Order began when Clare of Assisi, an eighteen-year-old maid from a wealthy knightly family, was confronted with marriage plans arranged by her relatives. Clare, who had been piously raised by her mother, wished instead to dedicate herself to God, which met with strong opposition from her family, especially her uncle.
She probably turned for advice to Rufino, her cousin who belonged to the penitential community of St. Francis. Thanks to him, St. Francis was acquainted with Clare, which marked the beginning of their fruitful relationship. With the knowledge of the bishop of Assisi, St. Francis made a bold proposition for Clare how to live a life modeled on Christ’s: she was to leave her family home and join the penitential community, but staying in a convent that would later become a place for the sisters.
Palm Sunday and Holy Week of the year 1212 were chosen as the time for this decisive step. After the church services, accompanied by a trusted friend, Clare slipped out of her home and went to the church of Our Lady of the Angels (the Portiuncula), where the brothers were waiting for her. There, Francis gave her the penitential robe, and then she was taken to a Benedictine convent to protect her from her family.
The next day, Clare’s uncle arrived with armed servants to take her away by force, but Clare clung to the altar cloths in a symbolic gesture of placing herself under the protection of the Church and revealed her shortened hair, making it clear that her decision was irrevocable.
The beginnings of the female spiritual community of San Damiano
With the bishop's consent, the brothers prepared the church and buildings of San Damiano for the nuns. Soon, Clare was joined by her sisters, Agnes and Beatrice, her mother Ortolana, and friends such as Bona, Pacifica, Benvenuta, and Massariola. St. Francis undertook to provide spiritual guidance for them and wrote the first rule entitled The Way of Life.
After three years, in 1215, Francis instructed Clare to take over the independent leadership of the community in order to give it permanent rule. Cardinal Hugolin, later Pope Gregory IX, developed a dedicated one based on the Rule of St. Benedict (Hugolian Constitutions, 1219 and 1228). However, Clare decided that this rule did not correspond to the particular charisma of their community based on “poverty for Christ.”
Struggle to preserve the Franciscan charisma
From the popes Innocent III, Gregory IX, and Innocent IV Clare received the “Privilege of Poverty”, which allowed the community of San Damiano not to possess any material goods. When new monastic communities following its example started to emerge, Clare was dispatching sisters to spread the Franciscan rules of communal and spiritual life and kept conducting the related correspondence.
In 1253, after numerous attempts, Clare personally wrote a rule for her community, which was approved by pope Innocent IV. It was the first rule written by a woman in the Church. Clare died on August 10, 1253, leaving behind a testimony of faith and heroism.
Saint Clare’s legacy
Two years after her death, pope Alexander IV canonized Clare, and pope Urban IV approved the Order of Saint Clare’s Rule. The rule introduced uniform guidelines of communal life within the order at the same time leaving the matter of poverty in a spiritual dimension and thus making it dependent on the maturity of particular convents.
For eight centuries, the Poor Clares have faithfully pursued the ideals of their vocation – poverty, penance, and contemplation – giving witness to the life following the Gospel led by St. Clare.