On August 11, the Church celebrates St. Clare ✝
Clare was the daughter of a count and countess. She heard St. Francis preach in the streets of Assisi and told him of her desire to give herself to God.
At the age of 18 she fled from the noise of the world and went to a country chapel, where St. Francis himself sheared off her hair and clothed her with a penitential garb. Then she resided at the Church of St. Damian, where the Lord provided for her a goodly number of companions. So she established a community of nuns and acted as their superior at the wish of St. Francis. For forty-two years she directed the nunnery with zeal and prudence.
One day enemies of the Church were about to attack the convent. The saint had the Blessed Sacrament placed in a monstrance above the gate of the convent and, kneeling before it, she prayed for help. Suddenly the enemy fled.
During her illness of twenty-eight years, the Holy Eucharist was her strength. She died in 1253.
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