Saint Clare of Montefalco

Clare was born around 1268 in Montefalco, in the Umbria region of Italy. As a young girl she joined her older sister Giovanna in a small community of women living a life of prayer and penance. In 1290 the community adopted the Rule of Saint Augustine, and when Giovanna died in 1291, Clare, though still young, was elected abbess.

She guided her sisters with wisdom and gentleness, and many people, from poor villagers to bishops and theologians, came to her for counsel. She lived through years of spiritual dryness without losing her trust in God. Her great love was the crucified Jesus, and she reportedly told her sisters that she carried the Cross of Christ in her heart. She died on August 17, 1308. When the sisters examined her heart after her death, tradition says they found within it figures resembling the instruments of the Passion. She was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1881 and is known as Saint Clare of the Cross.

Her body and heart are venerated in the Church of Santa Chiara in Montefalco, where pilgrims gather on her feast.

Augustinian friars and nuns around the world, including in the Philippines and Latin America, celebrate her with Masses and meditations on the Passion.