This sculpture of Saint Clare is located in Peterskirche. The Catholic Church recognizes two St. Clares..both roughly from the same time period. One, is Clare of Assisi whom Wikipedia (
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"born Chiara Offreduccio, is an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic religious order for women in the Franciscan tradition, and wrote their Rule of Life—the first monastic rule known to have been written by a woman. Following her death, the order she founded was renamed in her honor as the Order of Saint Clare, commonly referred to today as the Poor Clares."
The other is St. Clare of the Cross (or Clare of Montefalco) of whom Wikipedia (
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"Saint Clare of Montefalco (Italian:Chiara da Montefalco) (c. 1268 – August 18, 1308), also called Saint Clare of the Cross, was an Augustinian nun and abbess. Before becoming a nun, St. Clare was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis (Secular). She was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on December 8, 1881...
She was born at Montefalco, in Umbria, likely in the year 1268.[1] Clare was born into a well-to-do family, the daughter of Damiano and Iacopa Vengente.[2] Clare's father, Damiano, had built a hermitage within the town where Clare's older sister, Joan (Giovanna in Italian), and her friend, Andreola, lived as Franciscan tertiaries as part of the Secular Third Order of St. Francis. In 1274, when Clare was six years of age, the Bishop of Spoleto permitted Joan to receive more sisters, and it was at this time that Clare joined the Third Order of St. Francis (Secular), moving into the hermitage and adopting the Franciscan habit.[1] In 1278, the community had grown sufficiently large that they had to build a larger hermitage farther from town...
Immediately following Clare's death her heart was removed from her body, and upon inspection it was reported that symbols of Christ's passion, a crucifix and a scourge, were found within her heart."
This sculpture depicts the Saint standing in long flowing robes and holding a curious object in her right hand. That object in turn has an additional object inside it. The poster of this Waymark makes a supposition that the object may represent the relics of the cross that was found in this Saint's heart after she died.