Who is St. Agnes of Rome, Virgin and Martyr?
St. Agnes of Rome, Virgin and Martyr, c 314 A.D.
St. Augustine’s praises of St. Agnes’ Feast Day, celebrated January 21: “This is a virgin’s birthday; let us follow the example of her chastity. It is a martyr’s birthday; let us offer sacrifices; it is the birthday of holy Agnes: let men be filled with wonder, little ones with hope, married woman with awe, and the unmarried with emulation. It seems to me that this child, holy beyond her years and courageous beyond human nature, received the name of Agnes (Greek: pure) not as an earthly designation but as a revelation from God of what she was to be.”3
“Of all the virgin martyrs of Rome none was held in such high honour by the primitive church, since the fourth century, as St. Agnes.”2 “… her name has remained a symbol of maidenly purity through the ages. According to tradition, Agnes was a Christian girl of Rome, perhaps twelve or thirteen years old, when Diocletian began his persecutions … St. Ambrose, St. Damasus, and Prudentius all praise her purity and heroism. Her name occurs in the Canon of the Mass.”1
“It is clear, however, from the diversity in the earliest accounts that … at the end of the fourth century no accurate and reliable narrative, at least in writing, concerning the details of her martyrdom [exists]. On one point only is there mutual agreement, viz., the youth of the Christian heroine. The body of the virgin martyr was placed in a separate sepulchre on the Via Nomentana, and around her tomb there grew up a larger catacomb that bore her name.”2 “… the stone covering her remains was carven with the words, “Agna sanctissima” (most holy lamb). St. Agnes is the patroness of young girls and her symbol is, naturally, a lamb.”1
“On the anniversary of her martyrdom, the Pope, after high pontifical Mass in her church at Rome, blesses two lambs …”1 “The lambs are then reared in a cloister. When they have grown into sheep, their wool is used to make ‘palliums’ which are special stoles the Pope sends to archbishops to wear on their shoulders as symbols of the sheep carried by the Good Shepherd.”3
Sources:
1. “Lives of Saints”, Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc.
2. Catholic Encyclopedia, “Agnes of Rome, Saint and Martyr” by J.P. Kirsch.
3. Catholic Forum http://www.catholic-forum.com/themes/st_agnes.html
Want to learn more about St. Agnes’ martyrdom and the glory of holy virginity?
Rev. Alban Butler: http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/STAGNES.HTM
Want to learn more about cultivating purity after St. Agnes’ example?
Fr. Miguel Marie Soeherman, MFVA: http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/miguelstagnes.HTM
Interested in images of St. Agnes?