CLAIRE DE CASTELBAJAC
GOD' S SERVANT26 October 1956 - 22 January 1975
Claire de Castelbajac was born in Paris on October 26th, 1953. She lived her first five years in Morocco. The rest of her life, except for her studies, was spent in the home of the Lauret family, in the countryside of Gers, France.
As a child, Claire was possessed of an intense and joyful way of life, an outstanding concern for others, and a passionate generosity of heart. She showed a special interest in the things of God. She was practically boundless in loving, desiring, and giving.
Claire received her first Holy Communion when she was five and a half years old. Her faith in God continued to mature, as did her peaceful and complete devotion to Mary.
She was a committed student and as a teenager was admitted to the Central Institute of Restoration for painting and frescoes in Rome. Her life may have seemed easy, yet she suffered much, and as a girl and young woman fought hard battles against :
- chronic illness, which followed her from childhood until her death ;
- her excessive sensitivity and impulsiveness ;
- the crisis of changes in the Church;
- numerous outstanding difficulties and temptations during her first year in Rome.
Yet God's grace was in force and Claire fully yielded herself to His mercy. Her approach to the Holy Virgin and, as she put it, to « all those people up in the Highest », was informal and natural. Harmony and supernatural joy beamed through her during the last months of her life.
A three week pilgrimage to the Holy land, one that was truly a « pilgrimage for the poor », had a detrimental effect on her. Upon her return - from October to December 1974 - she worked on the restoration of two frescoes in the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. It was an exceptional time of meditation, enlightenment and happiness.
Especially in this time, she recognizes that to follow Christ's footsteps with enthusiasm is the way to bliss. She keeps everything in her heart to ponder within the arches of Assisi ; the final and eternal encounter is yet to come...
Claire went back to Lauret for the Christmas holidays bursting with joy and brimming with vitality. This was no false gaiety, but the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
The joy of God's children who place everything in His hands, who feel God's love, and love so strongly in return that they fear nothing. Claire is completely happy. She asks for nothing, and needs nothing. There is nothing but praise and love. She had been tested and purified, and her faith had won.
She spent the Monday of December 30th, 1974 in Lourdes with her parents. She remained prostrated in prayer at the foot of the grotto for a long time, unconscious of everything around her. Did the Virgin beckon her? Did she ask for supreme proof of her love?
Claire was particularly devoted to the first Saturdays of the month. On the morning of Saturday, January 4th, she was struck with a virulent case of encephalitic meningitis. It was agony.
God called her to Eternity on 22 January 1975. Claire was 21 years old.
Claire's privilege was to understand and to help us understand that faith brings joy; the joy of God's children. Our vocation to happiness can and must already begin on earth.
Any persons who may have been touched by Claire's grace are welcome to make themselves known at the
Monastère Cistercien Sainte Marie de Boulaur,
32450 Saramon (Gers).
Books about Claire are available in monastery :
Claire de Castelbajac n (26 October 1953 - 22 January 1975), published 1978 ;
Claire de Castelbajac (1986).
