Colette of Corbie
A 15th-century mystic who, after a dramatic spiritual awakening, revived the Franciscan ideal of radical poverty for women across Europe.
1381–1447 (age 66)·Franciscan foundress, abbess and saint·Birthday: January 13
Biography
Colette of Corbie reformed the Franciscan Poor Clares, restoring strict poverty and enclosure. Born in 1381 in Corbie, France, she became a hermit after her parents died, walled into a cell beside her church. Her visions pushed her toward reform. With support from a sympathetic pope, she traveled across France, Savoy, and beyond, founding new monasteries and reforming existing ones. Her order, the Colettines, emphasized barefoot poverty, perpetual fasting, and enclosure. She showed compassion for the sick and mothers. She led this movement during the Hundred Years' War and the Western Schism. She died in 1447.
#1 When Colette Was Born
The biggest hits of 1381
Colette's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1381Born
1386Started school
1394Became a teenager
1397Could drive
1399Could vote
1402Turned 21
1411Turned 30
1421Turned 40
1431Turned 50
1441Turned 60
1447Died at 66
Key Achievements
- Founded and successfully spread the Colettine reform branch of the Poor Clares, which restored the order's original commitment to extreme poverty.
- Personally established 17 new monasteries and reformed several others across Western Europe during her lifetime.
- Was canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church in 1807.
- Her reforms provided a stable and influential model of female monastic life that endured for centuries.
Did You Know?
For three years, she lived as an anchoress, literally walled into a small room adjacent to a church.
She is the patron saint of women hoping to conceive, expectant mothers, and sick children.
Colette experienced mystical visions from a young age, which directed her life's work.
Despite being a reformer, she maintained a lifelong devotion to the Franciscan friars who supported her mission.
“I will reform the Poor Clares and return them to the strict rule.”
