Saint Clare was an Italian noblewoman who was the first female follower of Saint Francis of Assisi. She founded the Poor Clare order of nuns and gave away her wealth to live in poverty and own nothing, trusting God to provide for her needs. When an attacking army approached her sick monastery, Saint Clare carried the Blessed Sacrament to the walls and prayed to Jesus for protection, causing the army to flee.

1. St. Clare– A Model of Hope<br />47625119951500Saint Clare was an Italian noblewoman and the first female follower of Saint Francis of Assisi. She founded the Poor Clare order of nuns. After hearing Saint Francis preach, she left her rich family and gave away everything to give herself to God. She and her community lived in poverty and owned nothing, trusting in God to provide them with food, clothes and all their necessities. In 1244 an army from Emperor Frederick II attacked her monastery of San Damiano on the way to take Assisi. As the army approached, Saint Clare, who was very sick at the time, went out to the walls of the monastery with the Blessed Sacrament and prayed that Jesus would protect her and her sisters. The army turned and fled.<br />0000After reading about and discussing the life of St. Clare, as a group, construct a definition of HOPE in blank space below. <br />Select someone in the group to be a scribe and PRINT your definition.<br />