Clare was born in Assisi Italy in 1193. She followed her fellow citizen, St Francis, in a life of poverty. She founded the Order of the Poor Clares or Minoresses and lived a life of radical poverty at the convent of San Damiano. She wisely led her community for forty years and gave counsel to many high-ranking prelates. Such was the fame of her holiness that she was canonised two years after her death in 1253. – CTS New Daily Roman Missal 2012, p 2902; Christian Prayer 1990, p 1198
