Clare of Assisi founded the Poor Clares and became the first woman known to write a rule for monastic life.
Clare was born in Assisi around 1194 to a noble family. Inspired by the preaching and example of Francis of Assisi, she left home in 1212 and joined the emerging Franciscan movement. Francis placed her at San Damiano, where a community of women formed around her.
The community became known as the Poor Clares, or the Order of Saint Clare. Clare defended a life of poverty and sought approval for a rule that did not require the sisters to own property. Pope Innocent IV approved her rule shortly before her death in 1253.
Clare’s rule is often described as the first monastic rule written by a woman for a community of women. She is not the same person as Scholastica, traditionally associated with Benedictine women’s monasticism. Pope Alexander IV canonized Clare in 1255.