Saint Clare was devoted to prayer. She said in her Rule for the Sisters, "They ought to desire above all to possess the Spirit of the Lord and His holy working" (Rule X). She told them "to praise God when they saw beautiful trees, flowers and bushes; and likewise, always to praise Him for and in all things when they saw all peoples and creatures". (Process of Canonisation XIV).

During Saint Clare's lifetime people from Assisi and beyond came to her to pray for spiritual and material help. The process of her canonisation records her intercession for needs great and small. From the mother with her toddler who had a pebble stuck in his nose to the city of Assisi being threatened with an army; from Saint Francis to the Pope, all had recourse to Clare.

Still today people visit and write to our Monasteries all over the world to ask for prayer. When people are troubled about illness, work or exams, relationships or anything else, they can and do contact us. We cannot promise solutions, but we can promise prayer. If you would like us to pray for your intentions, please click on the 'Prayer Requests and Links' icon opposite and write to us at the address provided. Although we cannot respond to all the letters that we recieve, rest assured that we will pray for all who send letters.

In its essentials, Saint Clare's life of prayer is summed up in the advice she wrote to Saint Agnes of Prague. Talking about our relationship with Jesus Christ she wrote,

"Gaze upon Him, consider Him, contemplate Him, as you desire to imitate Him"

which is what we, as Poor Clares today, are trying to do.