SAINT OF THE DAY · AUGUST 17

Who was Saint Clare of Montefalco?

Saintly Editorial 2 min read
In short

Saint Clare of Montefalco: A heart marked by love for the crucified Christ. Lived circa 1268 to 1308. Born and lived in Umbria, Italy. Augustinian religious sister and abbess. Patroness of Montefalco. Virgin and mystic. Saintly remembers this saint on August 17.

  • Lived circa 1268 to 1308
  • Born and lived in Umbria, Italy
  • Augustinian religious sister and abbess
  • Patroness of Montefalco
  • Virgin and mystic

Who was Saint Clare of Montefalco?

Clare was born in Montefalco, a hill town in Umbria. Her family belonged to the local Christian community. At four, she already showed a strong love for prayer. At six, she followed her older sister Joan into a small house of prayer and penance. There, Clare’s life took a new direction.

The little house soon became too small. More young women came to share its prayer and discipline. Clare stayed there for fifteen years. The women first lived as Franciscan tertiaries, lay people following a Franciscan way of life. In 1290, their community became a monastery under the Rule of Saint Augustine.

Joan died soon after the new monastery was established. Clare was then chosen to lead the community. She was twenty three and deeply reluctant. She accepted only because the bishop required it. Her new office brought daily work, difficult decisions, and care for every sister. Clare began by ordering the household carefully.

Clare governed with firmness and kindness. She assigned manual work, while giving room for sisters who needed more time for prayer. Poor people came to the monastery grille, the window where visitors spoke with enclosed nuns. Clare gave them food and comfort. Priests and learned men also sought her wise counsel.

For eleven years, Clare endured spiritual dryness, a painful feeling that God was silent. In 1294, Christ appeared to her in the monastery garden as a suffering pilgrim carrying a cross. He said that he sought a strong place in which to plant his cross. Clare understood that he meant her heart.

Clare often said, “I have Jesus within my heart.” Her whole life centered on the Passion, the suffering and death of Christ. She practiced severe penance, long vigils, and silence. Once, after speaking during silence, she stood barefoot in snow and recited the Lord’s Prayer one hundred times.

In the summer of 1308, Clare became seriously ill. On August 17, she asked to be carried to the church she had helped establish for the monastery. There, surrounded by her sisters, she gave final words about humility, obedience, patience, and charity. She died in that church at forty years of age.

What can we learn from Saint Clare of Montefalco today?

  • When silence is necessary today, pause before speaking and repeat one Lord’s Prayer inwardly.
  • Offer one practical kindness through food, counsel, or patient attention, as Clare did.
  • Look at a crucifix and ask Christ to make your heart a strong place for his cross.

Saint Clare of Montefalco shows how a hidden religious life can serve an entire community. She led with wisdom, welcomed the poor, endured spiritual dryness, and kept her attention on Christ’s Passion. After her death, her sisters reported finding signs of the Passion within her heart, a striking detail remembered at Montefalco.

When is the feast day of Saint Clare of Montefalco?

Saintly remembers Saint Clare of Montefalco on August 17, when the story above is the saint of the day in the app. Read how the Church declares someone a saint, or how to choose a patron saint.

Sources

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