Augustinian Saints & Blesseds: St. Clare of Montefalco, or Clare of the Cross

Among the great women of the Augustinian tradition, Saint Clare of Montefalco holds an important place not only for the holiness of her life, but also for the extraordinary sign God left in her heart at her death.

Clare was born around 1268 in Montefalco, a small hill town in Umbria, Italy. From an early age, she was drawn to contemplative life, joining the cloistered community that her sister Joan had established. The two sisters spent long hours in prayer together, and Clare professed her religious vows under the Rule of Saint Augustine as a young woman.

The early years of her religious life were not easy. For eleven years, Clare endured a profound interior trial, which included temptations, an inability to find consolation in prayer, and a deep fear that God had abandoned her. It was a dark night that tested and deepened her faith, and one that would have been recognizable to many of the great mystics of the Church.

When her sister Joan, who had served as Abbess of the community, died, the sisters turned to Clare to lead them. She refused at first, insisting she was unworthy of the office. But the community persisted, and Clare eventually accepted. She quickly proved to be a wise and loving Abbess until her death on August 17, 1308. Her governance was marked by holiness, wisdom, and charity, and her reputation spread well beyond the walls of the convent. Bishops, priests, theologians, judges, and ordinary laypeople alike came to her seeking counsel. Her advice, the tradition records, was always rooted in Scripture and almost always right.

Clare is sometimes called "Clare of the Cross" for the intensity of her devotion to the Passion of Christ. She frequently said that she carried the Cross in her heart. At her death, a post-mortem examination of her heart revealed something extraordinary: within it were found physical representations of the Cross and other symbols of Christ's Passion. It was a visible sign of what her whole life had expressed: a love for the suffering Christ so complete that it had become, quite literally, part of her.

Her feast day is celebrated on August 17. Her remains rest at the Augustinian Convent in Montefalco, where pilgrims continue to visit her to this day. Saint Clare of Montefalco is a powerful witness to the depth of Augustinian contemplative life and to the truth that genuine love of God transforms the one who loves.