Saint Maria Chaira

Also known as

• Clelia Nanette

Memorial

• 8 July as one of the Martyrs of Shanxi
• 28 September of one of the Martyrs of China

Profile

Known as a pretty, high-spirited, intelligent, joyful, energetic and impulsive girl. Her parents encouraged her to a more active social life in the hope that she would marry, but she declined, working at home, and living a private vow of chastity. At 18 she asked permission to enter religious life, but her parents vehemently opposed it. With her brother’s help, she joined the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary on 24 January 1892, taking the name Chiara (Clare). Missionary to China. Her short lived career ended during a crackdown on foreign missionaries. One of the Martyrs of Shanxi and the Martyrs of China.

Born

• 9 January 1872 in Santa Maria Maddalena, Occhiobello, Rovigo, Italy as Clelia Nanette

Died

• beheaded on 9 July 1900 at Taiyuanfu, Shanxi, China

Beatified

• 24 November 1946 by Pope Pius XII

Canonized

• 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy

Additional Information

• Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
• Hagiography Circle
• Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints

Readings

Always forward! - Saint Maria Chaira: her life’s motto and dying words

MLA Citation

• “Saint Maria Chaira“. Saints.SQPN.com. 8 April 2013. Web. 25 May 2013. <>