Saint Colette was born on 13 January 1381, in Corbie, France, and died on 6 March 1447 in, Ghent; canonized in 1807. She was a Franciscan abbess, reformer of the Poor Clares, and founder of the Colettine Poor Clares.
She was the daughter of a carpenter at the monastery of Corbie. She was orphaned at 17 and entered the Third Order of St. Francis, living in a hermitage given her by the abbot of Corbie. In a vision, St. Francis directed Colette to restore the Poor Clares (the Second Order of St. Francis) to the original severity of their rule created under St. Clare of Assisi in 1212. She undertook this reform in 1406, after visiting Antipope Benedict XIII and receiving his support. Despite initial opposition, her reform spread through Savoy, Burgundy, France, Flanders, and Spain, increasing notably after her death.