Approval of the Rule of St Clare

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“Clare was the first woman in the history of the Church who composed a written Rule, subject to the approval of the Pope, so that the charism of Francis of Assisi was preserved in all the female communities that were already being founded in large numbers in their time and who wanted to be inspired by the example of Francis and Clare”

Benedict XVI

This Rule constitutes a very radical variation to the religious norms of its time. Many other female congregations would follow Clare's Rule, who is the first and only woman to ever write a Rule for religious women. It was Pope Innocent IV who approved his Rule, two days before Clara's death (August 11, 1253).

On 9 August 1253, St. Clare obtained a papal bull, Solet annuere, establishing a rule of her own, more closely following that of the friars, which forbade the possession of property either individually or as a community.

The Rule drawn up or dictated by Saint Clare in person, her own, was first approved by Cardinal Rainaldo in September 1252 and then solemnly confirmed by Innocent IV on August 9, 1253, two days before the Saint's death. Shortly before, the Pope had come to visit her. When on the 10th a younger brother brought the papal bull to Clara, the saint, taking it reverently, brought it to his lips to kiss her. The next day Clara died and the papal parchment was deposited in one of the folds of her mantle, where it remained unknown until it was discovered by chance in 1893.

Prayer

O God, who instilled in Saint Clare a deep love for evangelical poverty, grant us, through her intercession, that, following Christ in poverty of spirit, we deserve to come to contemplate you in your kingdom. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mousepad with the image of Saint Clare of Assisi