FIRST YEARS (1807-1829)

Childhood

Anthony Claret y Clará was born in Sallent, Barcelona, Spain on 23 December 1807. He was the fifth of eleven children of John Claret and Josephine Clará. He was baptised on Christmas Day. The delicate condition of his mother caused him to be placed under the care of a wet-nurse in Santa María de Oló. One night that Anthony stayed at his parents’ house, the wet nurse’s house collapsed and everyone in the house died in the accident. For Claret that always was a sign of divine Providence.

Claret’s cradle was constantly shaken by the rattling of the wooden looms his father had in the ground floor of the house. From a very tender age Anthony gave signs of a sharp intelligence and a soft heart. At age five, “Toñín” thought about eternity: sitting on the bed at night, he was deeply touched by that “forever, forever, forever.” Later on, when he became an Archbishop, he would recall: “This idea of an eternity of torment made such a deep impression on me, either because of the tender age when it began, or because of the many times I thought about it, that it is surely the thing that to this day I remember best. The power of this idea has made me work in the past, still makes me work, and will make me work as long as I live, in converting sinners” (Aut n.9).

The people’s war against Napoleon vividly affected the ambience of that epoch. His soldiers often passed by the town between 1808 and 1814. Even the priests of the town had joined the battle. In 1812 the new Constitution was promulgated.

Meanwhile, Anthony played, studied, grew… Two loves were already outstanding in little Claret: the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin. He attentively attended Mass, made frequent visits to the Most Blessed Sacrament, often went with his sister Rose to the shrine of Fusimanya and daily recited the rosary.

Books were Anthony’s weakness. Few things contributed to Anthony’s holiness as much as his readings, the first readings of his childhood, because his readings were selected. But as early as that age, Anthony had a dream: to become a priest and an apostle. However his vocation would follow a different itinerary yet.

Among the Looms

Anthony spent his entire adolescence at his father‘s workshop. He soon became master in the textile craft. In order to improve his craftsmanship, he asked his father to let him go to Barcelona, where the textile industry was attracting many young people. There he enrolled in the School of Arts and Trades of “La Lonja.” He worked during the day and studied at night. Although he continued being a good Christian, his heart was centred on his work. Thanks to his tenacity and ingenuity, he soon was able to surpass in quality and beauty the samples that came from abroad. A group of businessmen, admiring his competence, proposed to him an alluring plan: to start a textile company in which they would take responsibility for the financing and set-up of the factory. But inexplicably, Anthony refused. God was involved. There were events that made him more sensitive to the voice of God. These are some of these events: he ran into a partner who ended up in prison, his friend’s wife set up a tempting trap for him, he came out miraculously unscathed from the sea where a gigantic wave had carried him, etc. Lastly, he was deeply impressed by the words of the Gospel: “What will one gain by winning the whole world if he destroys himself?” (Mt 16:26). The looms suddenly stopped, and Anthony went to consult with the Oratorians of St. Philip Neri. At last he resolved to become a Carthusian and informed his father of his plan. His decision to become a priest reached the Bishop of Vic, Msgr. Paul of Jesus Corcuera, who wished to meet him. Anthony left Barcelona about the beginning of September 1829 on his way to Sallent and Vic. He was 21 and was decided to become a priest.