A beacon of excellence in girls’ education since 1965. 

St Clare’s College has been a beacon of excellence in girls’ education since its establishment in 1965. Prior to this, St Christopher’s Convent at Manuka was the only secondary school for Catholic girls in Canberra. In 1959, the closure of St Christopher’s Secondary School led to the opening of Catholic Girls’ High School in Braddon, designed to serve all Catholic secondary girls in Canberra. By 1961, the school’s rapid growth prompted His Grace, Archbishop O’Brien, to announce the construction of a new Catholic Girls’ High School on the south side of the city to accommodate the increasing number of students.

The National Capital Development Commission and the Department of the Interior provided land in the suburb of Griffith for the new school. Catholic Girls’ High School Griffith, as it was originally named, was blessed by Archbishop O’Brien on May 30, 1965, and officially opened by Senator Gorton, the Minister-in-Charge of Commonwealth Activities in Research and Education.

The founding Principal, Sister Clare Slattery of the Good Samaritan Sisters, led the school with a staff drawn from religious orders. In keeping with the regional nature of the school’s enrolment, the religious orders staffing the school were also linked to the primary schools from which students came, maintaining a connection between the Order, the students, and the Parish. This arrangement was unique in Australian Catholic schools, continuing the model established at Catholic Girls’ High Braddon.

At the time of its opening, the teaching staff consisted of eight Sisters from four religious orders:

• Sisters of the Good Samaritan
• Presentation Sisters
• Franciscan Missionaries of Mary
• Sisters of the Society of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

The Sisters of Charity joined the community in 1967, and the first lay staff members also began teaching in 1965. In 1980, the school’s name was officially changed from Catholic Girls’ High School Griffith to St Clare’s College in honour of two influential women: Saint Clare of Assisi, who embodied an ideal of womanhood, and Sister Clare Slattery, the founding Principal.

St Clare was born on 16 July 1193, the daughter of wealthy parents. When pregnant with Clare, her mother prayed and received a message from God: “Fear not for you will give birth to a light which will shine on all earth”. And so, when the baby was baptised, St Clare’s mother broke with convention by giving her the unusual name of Chiara or Clare. The name “Clare” means light.

In a highly religious culture, Clare’s faith shone out as extraordinary. She was active in giving to those in need and was a young woman of great prayer. Her life centered on her deep and personal relationship with Christ. In the year 1212 Clare of Assisi, then a girl of 17 or 18 responded to the urging of the Holy Spirit by choosing to follow the way of life of St Francis. She was the first female follower; those who joined her formed the community now known as the Poor Clare’s.

Noblewomen born during the Middle Ages were allowed few choices about their life. They were expected to marry well and expand the family wealth. Some escaped arranged marriages by joining a religious order, their dowries gaining them admittance into a monastery and an assurance of life-long security. Clare of Assisi broke with convention; she walked away from both marriage and the traditional monastic life.

She felt called by God to create a new path for women in the Church. Clare embraced poverty, humility and charity as companions for her spiritual journey. At the age of 21, Clare agreed to accept the role of abbess. Until she died, at about sixty years of age, she lived among her sisters as one who served. The sisters who lived with her said that she never asked them to do anything she would not do herself. Clare exhorted her sisters to live as examples and mirrors of God.

Clare became the first woman to incorporate her experience, and that of her sisters, into the formulation of a Rule of Life for a religious community. She waited forty years for her rule to be approved, so that she and her sisters could live the spirit of the Gospels. Throughout these years there is not a trace of revolt or bitterness, but rather a tender and patient waiting.

She introduced a democratic element into the functioning of her community: every sister was given the right to vote and contribute to community decisions. St Clare is a woman who has much to teach about the skills of living together.

After Francis’ death, she was the expert on his vision as well – all came to consult with her. She was 1 of only 4 women whose writings from the early 13th Century have survived.

During her life people referred to Clare as someone who shone like a radiant star, who was a flame of love and the essence of kindness.

‘Seek Wisdom’

From the Book of Proverbs (1.2-1.5).
“For learning what wisdom and discipline are, for understanding words of deep meaning, for acquiring an enlightened attitude of mind – virtue, justice and fair-dealing; for teaching sound judgement to the ignorant and knowledge and sense to the young; for perceiving the meaning of proverbs and obscure sayings, the sayings of the sages and their riddles.

Let the wise listen and she will learn yet more, and the person of discernment will acquire the art of guidance.”

Tom Bass, a Canberra sculptor well known for his statue of Ethos, which stands in Civic Square, also designed the St Clare’s crest. The shape of St Clare’s crest is derived from the flames of the Holy Spirit and the Fruit of the Spirit described by St Paul.