Sunday, 11 August, memorial of the death of Saint Clare of Assisi
Universal Patron Saint of television and telecommunications
On Christmas eve of 1252, Saint Clare was ill and confined to her dormitory bed in Assisi’s San Damiano Monastery. Her Sisters had left her on her own to recite the morning prayers but she wanted to join them at least on that night. So great was her devotion to the mystery of the Saviour’s birth that she asked the Lord to grant her wish. What took place next inspired Pius XII, seven centuries later, to proclaim Saint Clare the universal patron Saint of television and telecommunications, on 4 February 1958. The episode is still relevant today, as the day in which we commemorate the birth in heaven of the Saint, 11 August, coincides with the day the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems remembers her for her patronage.
Chapter XXXV of the Little Flowers recount that on that night, Clare was miraculously carried to the Church of Saint Francis in Assisi. Documents for her canonization process on the same event, refer to a vision of what was happening.
However, both sources agree that the Lord received her prayer. and having started to think about Baby Jesus and to suffer greatly because she could not participate in singing the Lauds, Clare said, “Lord Jesus, here I am in this place, abandoned, with you alone”. And suddenly, the singing that was taking place in the Church of Saint Francis began to resound in her ears.
Details of this event can be found in The Life of Saint Clare Virgin, in the Franciscan Sources (3212): “She could hear the rejoicing of the brothers who sang Psalms and she listened to the harmonies of those singing and could even hear the sound of the organ! And that place was not that close as to be humanly heard. Thus, either the solemn ceremonies were amplified for her by God or her hearing was strengthened beyond human capabilities. But what is even greater than this is that she had been considered worthy of seeing nativity scene of the Lord”.
It was precisely for this reason that Pope Pius XII proclaimed Saint Clare of Assisi patron saint of television, which was just emerging, with the Apostolic Letter Clarius explendescit, explaining his reasons in this way: “Nocte quadam natalis Servatoris Iesu Christi Asisii, cum aegrotans in suo coenobio super lectum decumberet, pios concentus, qui in Franciscali templo inter sacros ritus edebantur, audivit quasi praesens adesset, ac praesepe Divini Parvuli vidit” (Acta Apostolicae Sedis L [1958], 513).
Certainly, her fame of holiness among the People of God had contributed to the decision. Let us recall that on the day after her death, during her funeral, Innocent IV, who was in Assisi at the time, suggested celebrating the Office of the Virgins instead of the Office of the Dead, thus expressing his opinion regarding the fame of holiness of the first disciple of Francis.
Because of her fame of holiness, she was canonized only two years after her death in 1255 in Anagni, by Alexander IV with the Bull of Canonization, Clara claris praeclara: “In these and how very many other works and glorious miracles is this venerable Virgin resplendent, so that there evidently appears fulfilled that which her very own mother, while she was pregnant with her and was praying, is said to have heard: that she was going to bear a certain light, which would light up the globe in very many ways. And so, let Mother Church rejoice, that She has born and educated such a daughter, who as a parent fecund with virtues, has produced many nurselings of (this) Religion as Her own examples, and has informed them to the perfect service of Christ by Her full magisterium”.