St. Clare was born on July 16, 1194. Her baptismal name was Chiara Offreduccio. She is one of the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic religious order for women in the Franciscan tradition, and wrote their Rule of Life, the first set of monastic guidelines known to have been written by a woman. Following her death, the order she founded was renamed in her honor as the Order of Saint Clare, commonly referred to today as the Poor Clares. She is the patron saint of eye disorders and television. She died August 11, 1253. Secular Franciscans consider St. Francis as spiritual father and St. Clare as spiritual mother.