liminality, St. Clare of Assisi, transformation, ritual, Porta Moiano

During the late hours of Palm Sunday in 1209, Clare Offreduccio embarked on a pilgrimage that would come to define her as a leader and role model for women. In an act of faith and bravery, St. Clare of Assisi abandoned her life as a noble and all of the security, power, and privilege that came with it. In so doing, she denied the marriage plans her family had for her that would advance their political, social, and economic future. By exiting her home through the door of death and then the city of Assisi through one of the fortified gates, Clare moved through physical spaces that night, no doubt experiencing fear, disorientation ambiguity, elation, and deep faith. For Clare, this was a liminal experience during which she left behind all that mattered in her life in order to embrace the joy and newness of a life devoted to Christ. As Clare passed through the Porta Moiano, she entered a moment of liminality in which she was neither her old self nor the person she was to become. She stood in a space in which she lacked control and yet a space that offered her great possibilities. Clare’s exit from the fortified protection of the walls of Assisi formed and shaped a different person, a woman who endured adversity and the opposition of cardinals and popes with patience and wisdom. By entering into Clare’s own journey through reflection and the Clare Departure Ritual, pilgrims can gain insight into how to navigate and draw the most from the liminal moments of their own lives.