This is a picture of the original O’Dea Mansion that became the first part of Sancta Clara Monastery.
Our History
Saints clare and francis
The Franciscan Family
Our origins date back to the 13th century to the Franciscan movement initiated by St. Francis and St. Clare in Assisi, Italy. This movement which in the beginning was simply to live faithfully the Gospel of Jesus Christ in brotherhood and sisterhood, eventually became the three Franciscan Orders that we know today: the Friars Minor, the Poor Sisters (now known throughout the world as the Poor Clares), and the Secular Franciscans.
Our Holy Mother St. Clare
St. Clare was a noble woman of the Italian town of Assisi at the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th centuries. Known from her youth as a devout girl, Clare was touched to the heart by the preaching of her contemporary, St. Francis of Assisi. On the night of Palm Sunday in 1212, Clare left her family home and began to follow Francis by giving herself to living a poor, simple, Gospel life at the little church of San Damiano on the outskirts of Assisi. Although her family was initially furious with her decision, many young women followed Clare's example within a short time, including a number of members of her own family including her sisters and mother.
our foundress mother marie de st. claire bouillevaux
Our Order
The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration is one of the several branches of the Order of St. Clare. It began in France in 1854 by Mother Marie de St. Claire Bouillevaux in response to her call to contemplation and adoration of the Eucharist in a spirit of praise and thanksgiving and reparation for the ingratitude shown towards God for all His graces and blessings He bestows on mankind. This Community, first known as the Franciscan Nuns of the Blessed Sacrament, adopted the contemplative way of life and was given the privilege of solemn exposition of the Eucharist. It then spread to Austria and Poland where we have numerous monasteries in both countries still to this day.
In 1921, the first American foundation was established in Cleveland, Ohio. Several other monasteries have since been established in this country and in India and Bangladesh. In addition to the Cleveland monastery and ours here, we currently have 2 more monasteries of our Order in the USA: Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, AL (founded in 1962 by Mother Mary Angelica from our Monastery here in Canton) and Our Lady of Solitude in Tonopah, AZ (founded in 2005 by our Sisters in Alabama). Sadly, over the years we have had to close some of our monasteries in the USA and each time we do we are saddened but we know God is working in it and through it. Each Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration Monastery is like our extended family and we worship, pray, and adore with them in spirit all day, every day. It is such a JOY to see us when some of our members can get together.
from left to right: sr. mary of the cross, mother mary clare, sr. mary joanne, mother mary agnes (foundress of our cleveland monastery—just visiting), sr. mary angelica, and mother mary luka with the last founding sister, sr. Mary juliana taking the picture as a good extern sister would do
Our Monastery—Sancta Clara Monastery
In August of 1945 the O’Deas approached Bishop James McFadden to offer their 15 acre estate for the purpose of establishing a religious house of Eucharistic Adoration. Bishop McFadden conferred with Mother Mary Agnes, Abbess and Foundress of the First American monastery of our Order in Cleveland, Ohio. Grateful for the opportunity to extend the boundaries of Eucharistic Adoration, she called on six of her Sisters to pioneer new foundation. Those founding members were Mothers Mary Clare (Abbess) and Mary Luka (Vicar) and Sisters Mary Joanne, Mary of the Cross, Mary Angelica, and Mary Juliana serving as the extern. Fifteen months later, on October 1, 1946, the O’Deas’ dream was realized when Bishop McFadden dedicated the original Sancta Clara Monastery. Today, in the Community (but also available to the public) cemetery, both the O’Deas have their final resting place near the monastery they made possible. We have been here ever since adoring our Lord quietly but faithfully for all the world and we recently celebrated 75 years of doing so in 2021.
Below is a gallery of photos of our grounds, mostly the uncloistered part but a few of inside the cloister. The second gallery is photos of statues and the stained glass windows in our Church (public part) and Choir (Sister’s private part). The Church windows are great Franciscan saints and saints who had very strong devotions to the Eucharist. The Choir windows are depicting various Biblical scenes related to religious life, praying the Liturgy of the Hours, and the stages of the vocational call of a Sister. No pictures of Sisters. Sorry. If you want a picture of the Sisters, scroll down a little further for one.
This is a Community picture with John. He is our wonderful volunteer that has taken on himself the duty of making our front of the Church and Monastery to be the most beautiful it has ever been…and he does this 7 days a week after running his own business. He appreciates any and all volunteers especially to help water any and every day of the week starting in about June. THANK YOU JOHN FOR HELPING TO KEEP SANCTA CLARA BEAUTIFUL FOR GOD!
