Saint Clare

Foreword by Murray Bodo, O.F.M

Medieval scholar Marco Bartoli, as translated by Clare scholar Sister Frances Teresa Downing, reconstructs the charismatic personality of Clare of Assisi, a great medieval figure whose voice has been heard through the ages. Bartoli explores what has been said about Clare and what has not been said, between evidence and interpretation, between silence and memory, using the most important source for knowing Clare, the Legenda sanctae Clarae virginis (The Legend of Saint Clare the Virgin), written by order of the pope on the occasion of Clare's canonization.

MARCO BARTOLI is professor of medieval history at the University of Perugia and has done extensive studies on the life of Clare of Assisi. SISTER FRANCES TERESA DOWNING, O.S.C., is guardian of a community of four Poor Clares in Hastings (Sussex), England. From Cambridge University she earned a diploma in philosophy of religion and theology, religious history, and ethics. She is completing a master’s degree in philosophy of Franciscan theology and spirituality from the Franciscan International Study Centre at Canterbury, where she teaches about Clare. She wrote Living the Incarnation: Praying with Francis and Clare of Assisi and This Living Mirror: Clare of Assisi, in addition to editing Praying in the Franciscan Spirit and translating five books by Italian authors.