Clare of Assisi
Clare of Assisi (* 1193 or 1194 in Assisi in Umbria ; † August 11, 1253 in San Damiano , Assisi) was the founder of the contemplative order of the Poor Clares .
Life
Klara (Italian: Chiara ) was born as the daughter of the nobleman Favarone di Offreduccio di Bernadino in 1193 or 1194. Influenced by the example of St. Francis , whom she had heard preaching in the Cathedral of Assisi, she left on the night of Palm Sunday 1212, the 18th and 19th centuries. March 1212, her wealthy, aristocratic parental home and took the vow of a life according to the evangelical councils in the small church Portiuncula . Francis dressed her “in a poor robe” and cut her hair.
From then on, Clare devoted herself to following Christ in radical poverty . Francis initially placed her with Benedictine nuns . Her sister, Saint Agnes of Assisi , followed her example only sixteen days later. After Francis restored the chapel of San Damiano and provided shelter there, Clare and her sister moved there, where they were quickly joined by other women, including other sisters, friends, her aunt and her widowed mother.
Klara's courage and trust in God impressed many of her contemporaries. During an attack by the Saracens in 1240 , she confronted them with the monstrance . She did the same when Assisi was besieged by the imperial army a year later. Their iconographic attribute of saints is therefore the monstrance, and sometimes the chalice .
Clare stayed in the cloister of the monastery of San Damiano until her death and lived according to the rule of the order , which she wrote in 1216–1217 , which she said was "simply to observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ". Until her death, she fought for church recognition of this way of life, for the “privilege of poverty”. The Pope was of the opinion that the rule written by Clare was too strict and therefore not to be observed. Pope Innocent IV granted her recognition of the rule of the order on August 9, 1253, shortly before her death. The bull Solet annuere was brought to Klara on August 10th, and Klara died on August 11th.
Adoration
The remains of Clare are venerated in the crypt of the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Assisi.
The rule of the Poor Clares was the first rule in history that a woman had written for women. The rule is surprisingly democratic for the time - it particularly emphasizes the personal responsibility of each individual sister. Many women all over Europe felt that it addressed them, joined the Poor Clares or founded their own Poor Clare convents , including Agnes of Prague . The Poor Clares are, alongside the Discalced Carmelites, the largest women's order in the Catholic Church .
About two years after her death, on August 15, 1255, Pope Alexander IV canonized Clare of Assisi . Pope Pius XII appointed her on 17 February 1958 in an apostolic letter to the patron saint of television . The feast day of St. Clare in the Catholic and Anglican churches and in some evangelical denominations is August 11th . The Cologne clear altar is St. Consecrated to Clare.
In Haitian Voodoo , Clare of Assisi is syncretized and worshiped with the female spirit Ayizan .
gallery
Reliquary of St. Clare in St. Jakobus in Rüdesheim am Rhein
Statue of the saint in Graal-Müritz
literature
- Christof Dahm: Clare of Assisi. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 3, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-035-2 , Sp. 1564-1586.
- Johannes-Baptist Freyer : Clare of Assisi. A life according to the gospel . Dietrich-Coelde-Verlag, Werl 1997, ISBN 3-87163-230-9 .
- Lothar Hardick OFM, Engelbert Grau OFM: Life and writings of St. Clare (= Franciscan source writings . Vol. 2). Dietrich-Coelde-Verlag, Werl 1952 (introduction, translation and comments by Engelbert Grau, explanations by Lothar Hardick).
- Lothar Hardick OFM: On the chronology in the life of St. Clare. In: Franziskanische Studien , 35th year, 1953, pp. 174–210, now also in: Dieter Berg (Ed.): Spiritualität und Geschichte. Ceremony for Lothar Hardick OFM on his 80th birthday. , Werl 1993, ISBN 3-87163-195-7 , pp. 203-223.
- Martina Kreidler-Kos: The life of Clare of Assisi. Be praised for creating me . Don Bosco Verlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-7698-1323-5 .
- Niklaus Kuster OFMcap : Franz and Klara of Assisi. A double biography. Publishing association topos plus, 2016, ISBN 978-3-460-50038-9 .
- Sabine Pemsel-Maier : Gender perspectives - new perspectives on Klara von Assisi. Echter Verlag, Würzburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-429-04457-2 (88 pages).
- Anton Rotzetter : Clare and Francis. Pictures of a friendship (= Topos-Plus-Taschenbuch; 309). Paulus-Verlag, Friborg 1999, ISBN 3-7867-8309-8 .
- Marianne Schlosser , Engelbert Grau: Life and writings of St. Clare of Assisi . Butzon & Bercker, Kevelaer 2001, ISBN 3-7666-2068-1 .
- Gunda Werner-Burggraf, Wolfgang Max Burggraf (Ed.): Clara.francesco - A didactic material book . Missionszentrale der Franziskaner GmbH, Bonn 2006, ISBN 978-3-939561-10-1 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
Web links
- Literature by and about Clare of Assisi in the catalog of the German National Library
- Clare of Assisi. In: FemBio. Women's biography research (with references and citations).
- Meister Eckhart and his time - women - Clare of Assisi
- Entry to Clare of Assisi on medals online
- Klara's homepage at the Poor Clare Monastery in Paderborn
- Digitized version of the manuscript St. Klara-Buch of the Bamberg State Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dieter Berg: Klara v. Assisi . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 6 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1997, Sp. 112 .
- ↑ Lettre apostolique - ste claire patronne de la télévision (Apostolic letter proclaiming St. Clare the heavenly patroness of television, August 21, 1958), Pope Pius XII. February 14, 1957
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Clare of Assisi |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Chiara di Offreduccio |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Foundress of the Order of the Poor Clares |
DATE OF BIRTH | 1193 or 1194 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Assisi |
DATE OF DEATH | August 11, 1253 |
Place of death | San Damiano |