Clare of Assisi
1194 — 1253 · Feast day: August 11
The first follower of St. Francis of Assisi and founder of the Poor Clares, Clare of Assisi wrote the first monastic rule known to have been authored by a woman. According to tradition, when a raiding party of Saracen mercenaries threatened her convent in 1240, she held up the Blessed Sacrament at the walls and they withdrew.