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3Let the door be well secured by two different iron locks, with bars and bolts, 4so that, especially at night, it may be locked with two keys, one of which the portress may have, the other the abbess. 5During the day let it never be left without a guard and securely locked with one key.
6Let them most diligently take care to see that the door is never left open, except when this cannot be conveniently avoided. 7Let it never be opened to anyone who wishes to enter, except to those who have been given permission by the Supreme Pontiff or our Lord Cardinal. 8The sisters may not allow anyone to enter the monastery before sunrise or to remain within after sunset, unless demanded by a manifest, reasonable, and unavoidable cause.a
9If a bishop has permission to celebrate within the enclosure, either for the blessing of an abbess or for the consecration of one of the sisters as a nun, or for any other reason, let him be satisfied with as few and virtuous companions and assistants as possible.b
10Whenever it is necessary for other men to enter the monastery to do some work, let the abbess carefully assign a suitable person to the door, 11who may open it only to those designated for the work and to no one else. 12Let the sisters be extremely careful at such times not to be seen by those who enter.
[Chapter Twelve: The Visitator, the Chaplain, and the Cardinal Protector]
1Let our Visitator always be taken from the Order of the Lesser Brothers according to the will and command of our Cardinal.c 2Let him be the kind of person who is well known for his integrity and good manner of living. 3His duty shall be to correct any excesses against the form of our profession, whether these be in the head or in the members. 4Taking his position in an open area that he can be seen by others, let him speak with all and with each
- Clare, as is her habit, places a responsibility to make wise choices upon the shoulders of her sisters, even in this serious situation. This is above all a typical example of Clare’s Gospel flexibility.
- Solemn ceremonies such as those mentioned here created great influxes of guests into the monasteries of the time. Clare, mindful of simplicity and poverty, legislates a simple entourage for such events. For examples of such instances see Sally Thompson, “The Problem of the Cistercian Nuns in the Twelfth and Early Thirteenth Centuries,” Medieval Women, 229.
- The first Visitator of the Poor Ladies was a Cistercian, Ambrose, who held that position from 1218 to 1219. He was followed by Brother Philip Long (1219-1220), a Friar Minor, and then by a secular, Brunetus, in 1224. No doubt the prescription to have a Lesser Brother as Visitator came from Clare’s personal experience of a Visitator who did not understand the Franciscan ideal. Cf. Livarius Oliger, O.F.M., “De Origine Regularum Ordinis Sanctae Clarae,” AFH (1912): 181-209.
Regula [Clarae], Fontes Franciscani, p. 2304-2305
3Sit autem ostium diversis duabus seris ferreis, valvis et vectibus optime communitum; 4ut in nocte maxime duabus clavibus obseretur, quarum unam habeat portanaria, aliam abbatissa. 5Et in die sine custodia minime dimittatur, et una clave firmiter obseretur.
6Caveant autem studiosissime et procurent ne unquam ostium stet apertum, nisi quanto minus fieri poterit congruenter. 7Nec omnino aperiatur alicui intrare volenti, nisi cui concessum fuerit a summo Pontifice, vel a nostro domino cardinali. 8Nec ante solis ortum monasterium ingredi, nec post solis occasum sorores intus aliquem remanere permittant, nisi exigente manifesta, rationabili et inevitabili causa.
9Si pro benedictione abbatissae, vel pro aliqua sororum in monialem consecranda, vel alio etiam modo, concessum fuerit alicui episcopo missam interius celebrare, quam paucioribus et honestioribus poterit sit contentus sociis et ministris.
10Cum autem intra monasterium ad opus faciendum necesse fuerit aliquos introire, statuat tunc sollicite abbatissa personam convenientem ad portam, 11quae tantum illis, et non aliis, ad opus deputatis aperiat. 12Caveant studiosissime omnes sorores ne tunc ab ingredientibus videantur.
[Caput XII - De visitatore, capellano et cardinali protectore].
1Visitator noster sit semper de ordine fratrum minorum secundum voluntatem et mandatum nostri cardinalis. 2Et sit talis de cuius honestate et moribus plena notitia habeatur. 3Cuius officium erit, tam in capite quam in membris, corrigere excessus commissos contra formam professionis nostrae. 4Qui stans in loco publico, ut videri ab aliis possit, cum pluribus et singulis loqui liceat quae ad visitationis officium pertinent, secundum quod melius viderit expedire.