Saint Agnes of Rome - January 21

Saint Agnes of Rome 

January 21 

Patroness of Engaged Couples and Chastity

Little is known about Saint Agnes.  She is said to have been a beautiful, wealthy Roman maiden who as a child had dedicated herself to God.  When she rejected a suitor’s advances, he had her thrown into a brothel where her purity was miraculously preserved.  He then turned her into the Roman authorities who killed her either by fire or sword. 

In Greek, her name means “pure, chaste,” but many associate Saint Agnes with the lamb with which she is often pictured – agnus being the Latin word for lamb.  Both associations fit this early Christian, martyred as a young teen during the persecutions under Emperor Diocletian. 

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Saint Agnes - Domenichino