March 6
Saint Colette of Corbie
Abbess, Virgin, Foundress of Poor Clare Colettines
(1381 – 1447)
“If there be a true way that leads to the Everlasting Kingdom, it is most certainly that of suffering, patiently endured.”
Saint Colette of Corbie
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or on the Book Cover Image above to buy it!
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or on the Book Cover Image above to buy it!
Saint’s Life Story
Her Early Life
Colette was a miracle baby, born to to Robert Boellet, a poor carpenter who worked at the Benedictine Abbey of Corbie, and to his wife, Marguerite. Her parents, both over sixty years of age, who had been praying for a child to Saint Nicholas of Myra. Born at Corbie in Picardy, France on January 13, 1381, Nicolette was named in honor of St. Nicholas and was known by her nickname, Colette. Quiet and hard-working, Colette was a pious child who demonstrated a sensitive and loving nature.
A Tertiary Franciscan Nun
When Colette was 17, both of her parents died and was left her in the care of a Benedictine abbot. She distributed her inheritance to the poor and initially joined the Beguine and Benedictine orders, but neither one worked out for her. Instead, she became a third order Franciscan.
An Anchoress
At age 21, Colette renounced the world in order to spend her life alone in penance and prayer as an anchoress. As a recluse, she was walled into a cell whose only opening was a grilled window into a church. In 1406, she left her cell in response to visions she had in which Saint Francis of Assisi ordered her to restore the Rule of Saint Clare to its original severity. When she hesitated, she was struck blind for three days and mute for three more. Colette saw this as a sign to take action to reform the Poor Clares and to return it to its original Franciscan ideals of absolute poverty and austerity.
Became a Poor Clare
Colette tried to follow her mission by explaining it, but had no success. Realizing she needed more authority behind her words, she walked to Nice, France, barefoot and clothed in a habit of patches. Here, Colette met the Antipope Benedict XIII of Avignon who was recognized in France as the rightful pope. He professed her a Poor Clare. He was so impressed that he appointed her superior general of all convents that she might reform or found.
A Poor Clare on a Reform Mission
With the aid of the Franciscan preacher, Henry de Beaume (her confessor and spiritual director), Colette began her work at Beaune, in the Diocese of Geneva. She remained there only a short time. Eventually, Colette made some progress, especially in Savoy, where her reform gained sympathizers and recruits.In 1410, she opened her first monastery at Besançon, in an almost-abandoned house of Urbanist Poor Clares. From there, her reform spread to Auxonne (1412), to Poligny (1415), to Ghent (1412), to Heidelberg (1444), to Amiens, to Pont-à-Mousson in Lorraine and to other communities of Poor Clares. During her lifetime, 17 convents of her reform were founded. For her reform, she prescribed extreme poverty, going barefoot, and the observance of perpetual fasting and abstinence.
Colette was well-known for her wisdom, sanctity, ecstasies, and visions of the Passion. She was also known for her appreciation and care for animals. Colette helped Saint Vincent Ferrer heal the papal schism.
In addition to the strict rules of the Poor Clares, the Colettines follow their special Constitutions, approved by Pope Nicholas V, by Pope Pius II, and by Pope Sixtus IV.
Her Miracles
Helping a Mother in Childbirth
While traveling to Nice to meet Pope Benedict, Colette stayed at the home of a friend. His wife was in labor at that time with their third child. She was having major difficulties in the childbirth to the point where she was danger of death. Colette immediately went to the local church to pray for her.
The mother gave birth successfully and survived the ordeal. She credited Colette’s prayers for this. The child born, a girl named Petronilla, later entered a monastery founded by Colette. She would become Colette’s secretary and biographer.
Saving a Sick Child
A local peasant woman gave birth to a stillborn child. In desperation, out of fear for the child’s soul, the father took the baby to the local parish priest for baptism. Seeing that the child was already dead, the priest refused to baptize the body. When the man became insistent, out of frustration, the priest told him to go to the nuns, which he did immediately. When he arrived at the monastery, Mother Colette was made aware of his situation by the portress. Her response was to take off the veil given to her by the Pope, when he gave her the habit of the Second Order, and told the portress to have the father wrap the child’s body in it and for him to return to the priest. By the time he arrived at the parish church with his small bundle, the child was conscious and crying. The priest immediately baptized the baby.
Her Death
Colette was a gifted mystic who fortold her own death at the convent in in Ghent, Belgium. On March 6, 1447, Colette died. Her relics came to rest at Poligny in northern France.
Colettine nuns are found in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Norway, the Philippines, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Born : January 13, 1381 in Corbie, Picandy, France
Died: March 6 (Feast Day) 1447 at age 66 in Ghent, Belgium
Beatified: January 23, 1740 by Pope Clememnt XII
Canonized: May 24, 1807 by Pope Pius VII
Feast Day: March 6, February 7 (Franciscans)
Source:
Reflection
God called Saint Colette of Corbie to the difficult task of reforming the order of the Poor Clares. She faced resistance, misunderstanding, and hardship while restoring the order back to a life of deeper poverty, prayer, and fidelity to the Rule of Saint Clare.
Her reform was not about severity for its own sake; it was about freedom. By stripping away excess, she helped her communities rediscover joy, simplicity, and trust in God’s providence. Her life reminds us that true renewal, often requires letting go of comforts that dull our dependence on God.
Saint Colette teaches us that reform begins in the heart. Before she changed others, she allowed God to purify her own desires. Her example challenges us to examine where our lives may have grown cluttered or distracted, and to trust that God’s grace is enough.
Is there some attachment or habit in your life that God may be inviting you to surrender and “reform” so that your faith can be renewed and deepened?
Prayers
Saint Colette of Corbie,
You who embraced a life of poverty and prayer, reformer of hearts and restorer of the holy Rule, teach us to love simplicity and silence.
In your solitude, you listened closely to the voice of God. In your community, you inspired others to holiness.
Pray for us, that we may find strength in sacrifice, joy in obedience, and peace in surrender.
Help us to trust as you trusted, even when the path seems narrow or unclear.
Intercede for us now so that we may walk in humility and live for God alone.
Saint Colette of Corbie, pray for us. Amen.
Saint Links
A Dictionary Of Saintly Women, Volume 1 by Agnes B. C. Dunbar – St Colette
AnaStpaul – Saint of the Day – 6 March – St Colette
Catholic Exchange – St. Colette
Catholic Fire – St. Colette: Abbess, Mystic, Reformer
Catholic Online – St. Colette
Editions Magnificat – Saint Colette Virgin, Reformer of the Poor Clares (1380-1447)
Franciscan Media – Saint Colette
New Advent – Bihl, M. (1908). St. Colette. In The Catholic Encyclopedia
Newman Connection – Saint Colette
Reason2bCatholic – Saints Alive! | St. Colette of Corbie
Rev Butler’s Lives Of The Saints Complete Edition – St Colette, Virgin
Saint of the Day – March 6 Saint Colette
Saint Mary’s Press – Saint Colette (1380-1447)
uCatholic – Saint Colette