Saint Agnes

Saint Agnes (290-303) is one of the most popular saints in Roman martyrology. She is mentioned in the Eucharistic Prayer with the saints Agatha, Lucy, Cecilia, and Anastasia, Felicity, and Perpetua. This young virgin and martyr is only about twelve years old when, out of love for Jesus, she refuses to sacrifice to the gods and is killed by the Prefect of Rome, under the persecution of Emperor Diocletian.

History of Saint Agnes of Rome

Saint Agnes, whose name means in Greek pure and chaste, was born around 290 during the great anti-Christian persecutions of Diocletian and Maximian. The biographical details are reported by Saint Ambrose of Milan 70 years after her martyrdom, and Jacques de Voragine in The Golden Legend. Agnes was barely out of childhood (13 years old) when she completely devoted herself to Jesus and chose to remain a virgin out of love for Christ. The son of the Prefect of Rome fell in love with Agnes and resolved to marry her, but she refused, loyal to Jesus. The Prefect therefore summoned her to reason with her. The young girl appeared very beautiful and pure in her simplicity, her long and thick blonde hair haloed her, and she was accompanied by a small lamb. The Prefect ordered her to sacrifice to the gods, but young Agnes refused and replied, peaceful and smiling, filled with a supernatural courage that she was a Christian. The Prefect warned her that if she did not comply, she would die. Agnes testified peacefully to her happiness to go to death, a necessary passage to join Jesus, the one she loves and for whom she sacrifices everything without reserve and with joy. The order was then given to the guard to cut her throat with a sword. Thus died Saint Agnes, crying out “I love Jesus” in 303.

Several sources specify that before she died, she was paraded naked through the streets of the city, but her hair miraculously grew to cover her. She was then taken to a brothel where attempts were made to harm her purity, but in vain; she shone with such light that the brothel became a place of prayer. In a fit of rage, she was burned alive, but the flames engulfed everything around her without touching Agnes. After these torments, she gave thanks to God with these words: For a long time, I have been engaged to a celestial and invisible Spouse; my heart belongs entirely to Him, I will be faithful to Him until death. By loving Him, I am chaste; by approaching Him, I am pure; by possessing Him, I am a virgin. The one to whom I am engaged is Christ, served by the Angels, Christ whose beauty dims the brightness of the stars. It is to Him, to Him alone, that I keep my faith. Adorned with the crown of martyrdom, Agnes entered gloriously into Heaven and Christians have venerated her since the earliest times, obtaining endless grace from her.

The young martyr is buried in the catacomb of Saint Agnes, on the Via Nomentana in Rome, her body now rests in a silver urn, in the Basilica of Saint Agnes located at the same place. Saint Agnes is celebrated on January 21, her attributes include a white lamb, the palm of martyrdom, an olive branch, a sword, and a flaming pyre. The mystic Maria Valtorta received the vision of the martyrdom of Saint Agnes, the account can be found in the Notebooks of 1944 on the date of January 13.

Discover the first Christian martyrs: Saint Agatha of Catania, Saint Lucy of Syracuse, Saint Barbara, Saint Philomena, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Saint Margaret of Antioch, etc.

Why pray to Saint Agnes?

Saint Agnes is the patron saint of virgins, young girls, purity, chastity, and rape victims. She is therefore prayed to above all for the protection of the categories of people for whom she cares in particular.

Many other more contemporary saints, also martyrs of purity, pray and intercede for the protection of the young and the grace to remain pure in all states of life. This is the case of Saint Maria Goretti.

Feast of Saint Agnes

The liturgical feast of Saint Agnes is celebrated on January 21. On this occasion, the Pope blesses a pair of lambs raised by the Trappists of the Three Fountains Abbey. Their wool is used by the Benedictine nuns of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere to weave the “sacred palliums,” an ornament worn over the chasuble. The palliums are imposed on the new metropolitan archbishops every June 29, on the solemnity of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Prayer and Novena to Saint Agnes

Prayer to Saint Agnes

Tradition has it that the young Agnes prayed with these words, just before she died.

I bless You, O Father of my God and Lord Jesus Christ who, because of Your beloved Son, prevent the flames from harming me. Almighty and Dreadful God, alone worthy of being worshipped and served, be blessed! I will forever glorify Your Name because by the merits of Your only Son, You have bestowed upon me the Grace to triumph over all threats from the wicked and to pass through the filthiest paths, through all the filth of the demon, without contracting any defilement. Be blessed, my God: my lips confess Your Name, my heart is inflamed with Your Love: may I fly into Your Arms! So be it.

Prayer of the Novena to Saint Agnes

The novena can be prayed to Saint Agnes from January 13 to 21, in preparation for her feast. Here is the prayer to be recited every day:

Saint Agnes, despite your very young age, you courageously faced death for the love of Christ; within you, the same sentiments of Christ, the “sacrificed and victorious lamb,” resided. Through your intercession, may we too live our vocation and the concrete situations in which we find ourselves, as authentic paths to holiness. May this sweet name Agnes, reminiscent of “lamb,” fill us with your virtues and a childlike heart so that the kingdom of Heaven may be wide open to us. Grant us, through your prayers, the gift of chastity that preserves us from temptations and pleasures of the flesh, so as not to grieve your humble spouse, our redeemer. Amen.

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