Clare of Montefalco

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Saint Clare of Montefalco
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Christ implanting his Cross in the heart of Saint Clare of Montefalco
Saint Clare of the Cross
Born 1268, Montefalco, Umbria, Italy
Died 18 August 1308, Montefalco, Umbria, Italy
Venerated in Roman Catholicism
Beatified April 13, 1737 by Pope Clement XII
Canonized December 8, 1881, Rome by Pope Leo XIII
Major shrine Church of the Holy Cross, Montefalco
Feast August 17
Attributes Cross
Patronage Montefalco
Saints Portal

St. Clare of Montefalco, also called St. Clare of the Cross (c. 1268 – August 18, 1308), was an Augustinian nun and abbess. Before becoming a nun, St. Clare was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis (Secular).[1] She was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on December 8, 1881.

Contents

[edit] Life

Clare (Chiara in Italian) was born at Montefalco, in Umbria, likely in the year 1268.[1] Clare was born into a well to do family, the daughter of Damiano and Iacopa Vengente.[2] Clare's father, Damiano, had built a hermitage within the town where Clare's older sister, Joan (Giovanna in Italian), and her friend, Andreola, lived as Franciscan tertiaries as part of the Secular Third Order of St. Francis. In 1274, when Clare was six years of age, the Bishop of Spoleto permitted Joan to receive more sisters, and it was at this time that Clare joined the Third Order of St. Francis (Secular), moving into the hermitage and adopting the Franciscan habit.[1] In 1278, the community had grown sufficiently large that they had to build a larger hermitage farther from town.

In 1290, Clare, her sister Joan, and their companions sought to enter the monastic life in a more strict sense, and they made application to the Bishop of Spoleto. As the Third Order of St. Francis (Regular) was not yet established, the bishop established their monastery in Montefalco according to the Rule of St. Augustine. Clare made her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and became an Augustinian nun. Her sister Joan was elected as the first abbess, and their small hermitage was dedicated as a monastery. On November 22, 1291 Joan died, after which Clare was elected abbess. Clare was initially reluctant to accept her position. After the intervention of the Bishop of Spoleto, Clare finally accepted her position as abbess out of obedience to the bishop.[1]

Clare had served as abbess for sixteen years, but by August of 1308, Clare had become so ill that she was bedridden. On August 15, she asked to receive Extreme Unction, and on the next day, she sent for her brother to come to the monastery. Clare made her last confession on August 17.[2] Clare died at the convent in Montefalco on August 18, 1308.[1]

[edit] Spiritual Life

1294 was a decisive year in Clare's spiritual life. In the celebration of the Epiphany, after making a general confession in front of all her fellow nuns, she fell into ecstacy and remained in that state for several weeks. Unable to eat, the nuns maintained Clare's life by giving her sugar water. During this time, Clare reported having a vision in which she saw herself being judged in front of God. She later wrote, "I saw the hopeless Hell with all the lost souls and the Heavens with the saints, enjoying perfect happiness in the presence of God. I saw God in all his Majesty. He told me how unconditionally faithful to Him a soul must be to really live with Him and in Him. [...] Without God's protection I would be the worse woman in the world".

Clare also reported having a vision of Jesus dressed as a poor traveler. She described his countenance as being overwhelmed by the weight of the cross and his body as showing the signs of a hard way loading the cross. During the vision, Clare kneeled in front of him trying to stop him and asked him, "My Lord where are thy going?" Jesus answered her: ”I have looked all over the world for a strong place where to plant this Cross firmly, and I have not found any". Clare looked at him showing Jesus the desire to share his cross. Jesus' face shone then of love and joy. His quest had finished. He said to her: "Clare, I have found a place for my cross here. I have finally found someone to whom I can trust my cross", and it was implanted in her heart. The intense pain that she felt in all her body, when receiving the Cross of Jesus in her heart, remained with her. The rest of her years were spent in pain and suffering, and yet she continued to serve her nuns joyfully as their abbess.

In the year 1303 Clare was able to build a church in Montefalco which would not only serve as a chapel for the nuns, but also as a church for the town's community. The first stone was blessed on June 24, 1303 by the Bishop of Spoleto and that day the church was dedicated to Holy Cross (Santa Croce in Italian).

Clare served as abbess, teacher, mother, and spiritual director of her nuns. While Clare's reputation for holiness and wisdom attracted visitors to Monastery of the Holy Cross, she continued to governed her monastery wisely, careful not to disrupt the communal harmony nor the necessary day to day management of the monastery's domestic affairs. As abbess, one of Clare's responsibilities was that of interpreting and reinforcing the Rule of St. Augustine. She knew that she was only God's instrument, for she would tell her nuns, "Who teaches the soul – if not God?"

[edit] Her Relics

Following Clare's death, the nuns immediately prepared the body so that everyone could see it, dressing her body in her Augustinian habit. The Requiem Mass was celebrated on August 18. Clare's heart had been removed from her body so that it might be preserved as a relic. On the night of August 18, the nuns opened the box where Clare’s heart had been placed. To their astonishment, inspection of her heart revealed that the marks of the Passion of Jesus had been implanted within her heart. Opening her heart, they discovered the perfect form of Jesus crucified, still the crown of thorns in his head and the wound of the lance in his side. Additionally, made of ligaments and sinews, they found the flagella used in the flagellation, with the ends showing the metal balls. Another finding was three stones within her bladder. When the nuns investigated, they discovered that the three stones, as large as a nut, were perfectly equal in size, form and weight. All weighed the same; one weighed as much as two, two as three and one like three. The nuns interpreted this as a sign of the so great Clare's great love towards the Holy Trinity.

Clare's body produced such fragrance, that they could not bury it. Her body, still today, some 800 years later, has not decomposed. Her incorruptible body, dressed in her habit, remains visible under the high altar of her Church of the Holy Cross in Montefalco. The nuns still possess the relics of Clare's heart, the image of Christ crucified made of Clare's heart muscle and found within her heart, and the three miraculous bladder stones.

[edit] Canonization

The canonization process was initiated in 1328, but it was not until April 13, 1737 that Clare was beatified by Pope Clement XII. On December 8, 1881, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Leo XIII canonized Clare as Saint Clare of Montefalco at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.[1] Her relics are still kept in the Church of The Holy Cross in Montefalco where they are venerated by the faithful.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Donovan, Stephen M. (1913). "St. Clare of Montefalco". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 
  2. ^ a b Saint Clare of Montefalco. Villanova University

[edit] External links