“Everyone seeks for happiness, for the meaning of life. Happiness is only found in doing the will of God. As it is written in the Bible: ‘The world with its concupiscence passes away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.’ As a child I dreamed about meeting my Prince Charming; now I am happily a nun.” Tomorrow, at 24 years old, Sr. Clara will make her perpetual profession with the Poor Nuns of Jesus and Mary in the Cathedral of Ozieri in Sardenia. The liturgy will be presided over by the Bishop of Ozieri, Corrado Melis. Her parents, from Portugal, will be coming to celebrate her consecration, while Friar Volantino has come from Noto – the founder and servant general of the Poor Friars and Poor Nuns of Jesus and Mary, who were definitively approved by the Church on May 31, 2019. The community is young, dynamic, and continuously growing. In February, Adriana Gadari and Agata Emeka also enter [into an experience with] the Poor Nuns.

“I met a friar and two nuns from my religious family for the first time in 2007,” Sr. Clara recounts; “They were hitchhiking from Sicily to Portugal, entrusting themselves totally to Providence (in keeping with our charism). My father met them on the road and was struck by their peace and contagious joy. We welcomed them into our house and remained in contact after they returned to Italy. In 2009, when I was 13, they unexpectedly returned to my town. During that second visit, my parents, together with myself and my younger brother, decided to become part of the groups of prayer of this religious family. The atmosphere at home completely changed: beforehand, we were believers but weren’t practicing our faith, and we were always agitated and had many problems. Afterward, peace and unity reigned among us; and even beyond that, various people we were interacting with also had a conversion. I saw very well the difference between living with God and living without God.”

How did your vocation grow?
In a gradual way. The prayer of the meditated Rosary, in light of the Word of God, helped me understand the importance of the Will of God. Yes, the Lord has a special mission for each one of us. But what was my calling? When I was sixteen, while I was asking myself about the future, I remembered a Little Nun I had met in 2009. It was Sr. Veronica, our young mother general. I thought I would get in contact with her through Facebook; I wrote to her in Portuguese and she responded in Italian. She accompanied me throughout my entire spiritual discernment. I was also very much struck by the example of St. Clare of Assisi: the first time I thought about becoming a nun, I was watching the movie Clare and Francis. And now my name is Clara (which is Clare in Portuguese). When I was 17, as soon as I finished high school, I asked to have an experience in the community. I finished my studies in June and entered [the community] in August.

Your family followed you?
Yes, when he was 18 my brother decided to enter the Little Friars. And now our parents are full-time lay missionaries [with the community] and live out our charism.

Are you happy?
Certainly! I would never have thought before that responding to one’s own vocation could bring such great happiness – as the Psalm says: “Happiness and grace will accompany me all the days of my life.”