St. Clare of Assisi
 St. Clare was from an aristocratic family in Assisi and met Francis numerous times in her youth. She was so impressed by what he said and how he said and how he lived his life that she too felt that she wanted to give her life to God. In response to Clare's desire to live the life of a cloistered nun, Francis cut her hair, clothed her in a rough habit and put her in a Benedictine convent. After St. Clare was joined by several like minded women, St. Francis established them in a house adjacent to the church of San Damiano and named her as superior. She held the office of Abbess for 40 years. That was the beginning of the cloistered Franciscan nuns known as the Poor Clares. The sisters of this convent practiced such severe austerities that St. Francis and the bishop of Assisi found it necessary to modify their ascetical practices.
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