Agnes of Rome
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Agnes of Rome (c. 291 – c. 304) is a
Agnes was born in 291 into
An early account of Agnes, stressing her young age, steadfastness and virginity was written by the 4th-century theologian,
Biography
According to tradition, Agnes was born in 291 into Roman nobility, and raised as a Christian. She suffered martyrdom on 21 January 304, aged 12 or 13, and during the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian.[3][4] A beautiful young girl, Agnes had many suitors who were young men of high rank. Slighted by her resolute devotion to religious purity, they submitted her name to the authorities as a follower of Christianity.[5][6] One of them, a man named Procop, brought Agnes to his father, who was the local governor. He urged Agnes to deny God, but she refused.[7]
The
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Agnes_%26_Procopius.jpg/220px-Agnes_%26_Procopius.jpg)
Agnes was buried beside the
An early account of Agnes' death, stressing her young age, steadfastness and virginity, but not the legendary features of the tradition, is given by the 4th-century theologian, Ambrose.[3]
The broader social circumstances of her martyrdom are believed to be largely authentic, though the legend cannot be proven true, and many details of the 5th-century Acts of Saint Agnes have been challenged.
Veneration
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Drawing_by_Johann_Overbeck_of_St._Agnes%2C_became_a_published_etching_one_of_12.jpg/220px-Drawing_by_Johann_Overbeck_of_St._Agnes%2C_became_a_published_etching_one_of_12.jpg)
Agnes was venerated as a saint at least as early as the time of St Ambrose, based on an existing homily. She is commemorated in the Depositio Martyrum of Filocalus (354) and in the early Roman Sacramentaries.[6]
Saint Agnes' bones are conserved beneath the high altar in the church of
Agnes is remembered in the Anglican Communion with a Lesser Festival on 21 January.[13][14][15]
St Agnes is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Churches.[16]
Patronage
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Fr_Guarino_Santa_In%C3%A9s_1650.jpg/220px-Fr_Guarino_Santa_In%C3%A9s_1650.jpg)
Because of the legend around her martyrdom, Saint Agnes is patron saint of those seeking chastity and purity.
Iconography
Since the Middle Ages, Saint Agnes has traditionally been depicted as a young girl with her long hair down, with a lamb, the symbol of both her virginal innocence
Blessing of the lambs
On the feast of Saint Agnes, two lambs are traditionally brought from the
Notable churches
- Basilica of St James and St Agnes, Nysa, Poland
- St Agnes Cathedral, Rockville Centre, New York[25]
- St Agnes Church, New York City
- Sant'Agnese in Agone, Rome
- Sant'Agnese fuori le mura, Rome
- Sainte-Agnès , Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada
- St Agnes, St Agnes, Cornwall, England[26]
- St Agnes, Cologne, Germany
- St Agnes, Cawston, Norfolk, England
- St Agnes' Church, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, England
- St Agnes Cathedral, Springfield, Missouri, US
- St Agnes Church, Saint Paul, Minnesota
- St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church, Key Biscayne, Florida[27]
Legacy
The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes is a Roman Catholic religious community for women based in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, US. It was founded in 1858, by Father Caspar Rehrl, an Austrian missionary, who established the sisterhood of pioneer women under the patronage of Agnes, to whom he had a particular devotion.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Johann_Overbeck_drawing_of_St._Agnes_vs_Roman_Rule_an_early_Christian_martyr.jpg/220px-Johann_Overbeck_drawing_of_St._Agnes_vs_Roman_Rule_an_early_Christian_martyr.jpg)
The city of Santa Ynez, California is named after her.
Cultural references
Hrotsvitha, the 10th-century nun and poet, wrote a heroic poem about Agnes.[28]
In the historical novel Fabiola or, the Church of the Catacombs, written by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman in 1854, Agnes is the soft-spoken teenage cousin and confidant of the protagonist, the beautiful noblewoman Fabiola.[29]
The Eve of St. Agnes is a Romantic narrative poem written by John Keats in 1819.
The instrumental song "Saint Agnes and the Burning Train" appears on the 1991 album The Soul Cages by Sting.
The song "Bear's Vision of St. Agnes" appears on the 2012 album Ten Stories by rock band mewithoutYou.
The St. Agnes Library is a branch of the New York Public Library located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue between West 81st and West 82nd Streets.[30]
References
- ^ February 3 / January 21. https://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/htc/orthodox-calendar/
- ^ admin (2024-01-17). "Saint Agnes of Rome". Understanding Faith. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ a b "NPNF210. Ambrose: Selected Works and Letters – Christian Classics Ethereal Library". Ccel.org. 2005-06-01. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ "Our Patroness: St. Agnes the Martyr". St. Agnes Parish. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ a b c "St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr". St. Agnes Cathedral. Archived from the original on 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
- ^ a b "Duffy, Patrick. "Jan 21 – St Agnes (d. 305) martyr", Catholic Ireland, 21 January 2012".
- ^ "Our Patroness: St. Agnes the Martyr". St. Agnes Parish. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "St. Agnes of Rome". Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese.
- ^ "Saint Agnes of Rome, Virgin and Martyr". Learn Religions. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ^ "Monks of Ramsgate. "Agnes". Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 12 May 2012".
- ^ a b ""St. Agnes", Faith ND, University of Notre Dame".
- ^ ""Virginmartyr Agnes of Rome", Orthodox Church in America".
- ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
- ^ "For All the Saints / For All the Saints - A Resource for the Commemorations of the Calendar / Worship Resources/ Karakia/ ANZPB-HKMOA / Resources / Home - Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia". www.anglican.org.nz. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
- ^ "Agnes and Cecilia of Rome". The Episcopal Church. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- ^ admin (2024-01-17). "Saint Agnes of Rome". Understanding Faith. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Agnes, Saint". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 377. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Agnes of Rome".
- ^ "Why is St. Agnes depicted with a lamb?". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. 2023-01-20. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "Why is St. Agnes depicted with a lamb?". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. 2023-01-20. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "St Agnes, Little Lamb of the Lord". Missionaries of Divine Revelation. 2015-08-07. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "Pope modifies and enriches Pallium Investiture Ceremony". Vatican Radio. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
- ^ "Pope Francis celebrates Saint Agnes with blessing of lambs".
- ^ "Blessing of lambs a 500 year old tradition, priest reveals".
- ^ ""History", St. Agnes Cathedral". Archived from the original on 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
- ^ "Church of St Agnes, English Heritage National Monuments".
- ^ Pacenti, John (2023-06-19). "St. Agnes pastor to critics: "We are building to leave a legacy". Key Biscayne Independent. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "The non-dramatic works of Hrosvitha : Text, translation, and commentary". 1936.
- ^ Librivox. "LibriVox". librivox.org. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "St. Agnes Library".
Further reading
- Of Saint Agnes in "Ælfric's Lives of Saints", by Ælfric of Eynsham London, Pub. for the Early English text society, by N. Trübner & co. (1881).
- Henry Gardiner Adams, ed. (1857). "Wikidata Q115376221.
- Kirsch, Johann Peter (1907). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- "St Agnes – St Peter's Square Colonnade Saints"
- Satucket.com, St. Agnes of Rome
- "Saint Agnes" at the Christian Iconography website
- "Of Saint Agnes" from the Caxton translation of the Golden Legend
- Remarks on the feast of St. Agnes from St. Ambrose of Milan, On Virgins
- Saint Agnes – The patron saint of young girls.