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St. Clare was St. Francis’s pianticella, his “little plant,” and was such a fervent follower of Christ and his cross that bishops and cardinals and even the pope wanted to see and talk with her. They all visited her, and often, in person.
On one occasion, the pope himself—knowing that Clare was a vessel of the Holy Spirit—traveled to her monastery in order to talk and listen with her about heavenly matters. They talked for a long time about salvation and praising God, and while they were talking, Clare ordered some loaves of bread. She asked that they be brought and set out on the table so that Christ’s vicar might bless them.
When Clare and the pope were done talking, Clare knelt before the Holy Pontiff and asked him if he would bless the loaves. The pope said, “Faithful sister Clare, you will please bless them and make the sign of the cross over them, in honor of the one to whom you have dedicated your whole life.”
“Holy Father, I cannot,” she replied, “for I am a small and sinful woman who would never presume to do such a thing in the presence of Christ’s own vicar.”
“Don’t think of it as presumption,” he said, “but obedience, for I command you to bless these loaves in this way.” And so, obediently, Clare devoutly made the sign of the cross over the bread, blessing them. At that moment something amazing occurred: a clearly visible cross appeared marked on the surface of each of the loaves. When the pope saw this miracle, he thanked God, and then after blessing St. Clare, he took some of the bread with him as he left.
From that moment on, St. Francis would send people with illnesses to Clare and her sisters, for it was clear that their prayers and blessings, by virtue of the cross, would restore health to God’s glory. Amen. [#33 of 53]
* Pope Gregory IX (1227–1241).