Clare

(July 16, 1194-Aug. 11, 1253). She was born in Assisi, Italy. Clare came under the influence of St. Francis. On Mar. 18, 1212, she took the three monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and went to reside in the Benedictine convent of St. Paul in Assisi. Soon she was joined by her sister Agnes, and Francis made a cloister for them near the Church of St. Damian. This was the beginning of the order of Poor Clares, and Clare became the abbess in 1215. The rule of the order was one of extreme poverty and austerity. She was canonized by Pope Alexander IV in 1255. There is an order of the Poor Clares of Reparation in the Episcopal Church. Clare died in Assisi. She is commemorated in the Episcopal calendar of the church year on Aug. 11.