county of Assisi a very great number of persons was converted, and the
fire of divine love was kindled in every heart. "Then," says St.
Bonaventure, using the words of the Holy Scriptures, "the vine of the
Lord spread its branches and bore flowers of a most agreeable odor,
and produced fruits of glory in abundance." There were many young girls
who made vows of perpetual virginity; amongst whom, says the same holy
doctor, the Blessed Clare appeared as the most beautiful plant in the
garden of the Celestial Spouse, and as a star more brilliant than all
the others.

This illustrious maiden was the daughter of a rich and noble family
of Assisi. The Cavaliere Favorine, or Favarone, her father, was
descended from the ancient and powerful houses of Scifi and Fiumi. Her
mother, of equal high birth and exalted piety, was called Hortulana.
She had the talent of joining the care of her household to the practice
of good works, and to regulate her time so well, that she found enough
in which to visit, with the consent of her husband, many holy places:
she even made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. If this practice is no
longer usual in these days, particularly as regards distant countries,
it arises from the circumstances of the times being very different,
and from there having been a great change in manners. But Christian
piety does not permit us altogether to condemn (independently of abuses)
voyages or journeys of devotion, since they are sanctioned by the
examples of the saints, have been approved by the Fathers of the Church,
and since at one time they were directed as sacramental penances for
certain sinners.

Hortulana had three daughters, Clare, Agnes, Beatrix. Being about to
be confined of the first, and praying to God before a crucifix in a
church for a safe delivery, she heard a voice, which said to her: