11/08/2026
St. Clare of Assisi’s Feast Day
August 11 | St. Clare of Assisi Parish
Born into nobility in Assisi in 1194, Clare was a deeply prayerful and kind child. After hearing St. Francis preach, she secretly left her home on Palm Sunday, 1212, to follow God’s call. Francis clothed her in sackcloth and cut her hair—a powerful symbol of her renunciation of the world—as she took her vows to serve Jesus as her heavenly spouse.
Like Francis, Clare lived a life of radical poverty and humility, becoming a living example of his teachings. She is also known for her many miracles. One of the most famous occurred when she displayed a consecrated Host at her convent gates to ward off invaders, who miraculously fled at her prayer. Toward the end of her life, on Christmas Eve 1252, she was too ill to attend Mass in the new Basilica of St. Francis. Suddenly, she received a miraculous vision of the Mass on her wall, experiencing it perfectly from miles away. Because of this, she is honored as the patron saint of television and those with sore eyes.
Clare died on August 11, 1253, and was quickly canonized by Pope Alexander IV in 1255.