From Corbie in France, she lived as an anchoress until she felt called to restore the original spirit of Clare of Assisi. She founded and reformed convents across France and Flanders, renewing the Poor Clares.
Life
Saint Colette of Corbie was born in 1381 in Corbie in northern France, the daughter of a carpenter. After losing her parents early, she sought out several religious communities without finding her place, then became a Franciscan tertiary and lived as an anchoress in a small cell beside a church.
Later she felt called to renew the Poor Clares in the strict poverty that Saint Clare had first embraced. With the pope's permission she entered the Poor Clares and founded or reformed many convents in France, Flanders, Savoy and elsewhere. The sisters who followed her came to be called Colettines. She died in Ghent in 1447 and was canonized in 1807.
Spirituality
Colette's spirituality is renewal by returning to the first fervor. She sought to renew a religious life that had grown lax over time through the poverty and simplicity of Saint Clare. Having sought God's will in long silence and prayer, she was fearless in following it.
Reflection
Saint Colette brought communities that had grown lax back to their first spirit. Why not recall today the joy and zeal you felt when you were first baptized or first awakened to faith?