Saint of the day August 11: Saint Clare of Assisi. Catholic Saints

Every August 11, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint Clare of Assisi, founder, along with Saint Francis of Assisi, of the Order of the Poor Sisters, known posthumously as “Poor Sisters” in honor of her. Saint Clare of Assisi is considered the patron saint of television and telecommunications.

The Order of the Poor Sisters is an institute belonging to the Second Order of the “younger brothers” or Franciscans. The Poor Clares thus constitute the female branch of the Franciscans.

Francis of Assisi, his brother

Saint Clarewhose name evokes purity and luminosity, was born on July 16, 1194 in Assisi (Italy), into one of the city’s noble families. From a very young age she strove to acquire and grow in virtue: she assiduously attended prayer and penance; She used to take care of the most difficult household chores and took care of the smallest details.

At the age of 18 he went as usual to the church of San Giorgio de Asís for mass. That day, Saint Francis preached about Lent. Clara, after listening to him, asked the saint to help her also live “according to the way of the Gospel.” From that moment on, he became her spiritual preceptor and they cultivated a holy friendship. Clara, as she became more committed to the Lord, she felt more and more attracted every day to a simple life of dedication to the poor: that was precisely the path that Jesus showed her.

On the night of Palm Sunday in 1212, Clare left her house and headed to the Porziuncula, next to which the minor friars lived (today this small Franciscan chapel remains inside the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels).

That same night, in front of the Christ of San Damiano, Clare forever renounced the things of the world “for love of the most holy and beloved Child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying on the manger.” She was given the habit of her younger brothers and Francis himself cut her golden hair. From that moment the saint began to be part of the Order of the Minor Brothers.

The miracle of bread

Saint Clare lived almost her entire religious life in the monastery of San Damiano. One day, there was only one loaf in the cupboard and fifty had to be fed. Saint Clare blessed him and made everyone pray the Lord’s Prayer. A second later the miracle occurred: Clara multiplied the bread and distributed it to her sisters. She even had some left over, and sent the remaining half to her younger brothers. She then said: “Will He who multiplies bread in the Eucharist, the great mystery of faith, lack the power to supply bread to her poor wives?”

One of his best-known phrases is: “The love that cannot suffer is not worthy of the name.” And, in fact, his life was a life full of love: immeasurable joys, deep happiness, although with mortifications, fasting and prayer. She used to say that for her everything was “her hers beloved hers Jesus hers”, the source of her joy. It was evident that Clara’s life had been transformed: her whole life had become tender.

For God nothing is impossible

One of the best-known episodes of his life occurred on the day of the Solemnity of the Nativity of Christ. Being seriously ill, she was miraculously transported from her bed to the church of San Francisco. There she attended the entire matins service and the midnight Mass, she also received holy communion; after her, she appeared again in her cell, on her bed.

Clara had certainly never enjoyed good health – it is even said that she was ill for 27 years, while she lived in the monastery. Because of this, much of her religious life was marked by suffering and discomfort, which she knew how to endure heroically.

The Supreme Pontiff, Innocent III (1198-1216), visited her in the monastery on two occasions, during some of the worst moments of her illness. On one of those occasions, after seeing her, the Pope exclaimed: “I wish I had as little need to be forgiven as this holy little nun has.”

Patron saint of telecommunications and TV

Many cities, sanctuaries and temples around the world are named after him, usually in places where the Franciscan family is present.

In the late 1950s, television emerged as one of the most important forms of communication in modern society. In response to this, Pope Pius XII blessed the new technology, and offered the company and protection of the Catholic Church to channel this new tool within the limits of what is rightly human.

Thus, in 1958, Pius XII published a Apostolic Letter proclaiming Saint Clare Patroness of Television. By extension, she is also considered the patron saint of all telecommunications in general.

The document states that the Church supports technological innovation and recommends the use of modern technology to proclaim the Gospel. Furthermore, it is critically recognized that television is as capable of producing goods as the opposite – the same can be said of any form of telecommunications or transfer of information or data – so it is necessary for this technology to have a patron saint for it. the spiritual protection of those who use it.

That is precisely Saint Clare, the woman who was miraculously transported from “one point to another”, that is, from her room to the altar of the monastery chapel.

In the heart of the People of God

In September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI commented that the life of Saint Clare is an example of how important women are in ecclesial life. For the then Primate of the Church, Clara had more than demonstrated “how much the entire Church owes to brave and faith-rich women like her, capable of giving a decisive impulse to the renewal of the Church.”

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If you want to know more about Saint Clare of Assisi, we recommend reading this article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/Santa_Clara_de_Asís.

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