In her new book, Clare of Assisi and the Thirteenth-Century Church: Religious Women, Rules, and Resistance (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), School of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor Catherine M. Mooney explores the story of Clare of Assisi (1193-1253), who was the first woman to formally associate with Francis of Assisi, and counters some of the traditionally held beliefs about her. For example, Mooney says Clare was not the founder of the religious order that today bears her name. Mooney is a medieval historian who specializes in the lives of saints. She previously edited and contributed to the book, Gendered Voices: Medieval Saints and Their Interpreters. More from BC News.