Saint Colette | Biography & Facts | Britannica (original) (raw)

Quick Facts

Born:

January 13, 1381, Corbie, France

Died:

March 6, 1447, Ghent

St. Colette (born January 13, 1381, Corbie, France—died March 6, 1447, Ghent; canonized 1807; feast day March 6) was a Franciscan abbess, reformer of the Poor Clares and founder of the Colettine Poor Clares.

The daughter of a carpenter at the monastery of Corbie, she was orphaned at 17 and entered the Third Order of St. Francis, living in a hermitage given her by the abbot of Corbie. In a vision, St. Francis directed Colette to restore the Poor Clares (the Second Order of St. Francis) to the original severity of their rule created under St. Clare of Assisi in 1212. She undertook this reform in 1406, after visiting Antipope Benedict XIII and receiving his support. Despite initial opposition, her reform spread through Savoy, Burgundy, France, Flanders, and Spain, increasing notably after her death.

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