St. Agnes of Montepulciano, Virgin
Obligatory Memorial
She was born in 1268 in the town of Gracciano, Italy, into the wealthy Segni family. At the age of nine, she entered the monastery of certain virgins at Montepulciano. Then, at the age of fifteen, by indult of the Supreme Pontiff, she was made prioress, against her will, of the nuns of the monastery of Proceno, near Viterbo, whose foundation she had actively promoted.
After 22 years, yielding to the prayers of the inhabitants of Montepulciano, she returned there to a monastery newly founded by her in 1306. It was placed under the Rule of St. Augustine and, after some years, “fully and entirely” under the direction of the Order of Preachers, as she desired to pursue evangelical perfection under the Rule of St. Dominic.
With great devotion she venerated the Child Jesus and the Virgin Mother. Strengthened by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, she became a shining lamp of prayer and charity. By the grace of her virtue and the authority she held among the citizens, she encouraged them to pursue the goods of unity and peace.
Worthy of being called by St. Catherine of Siena a “glorious mother,” to be followed “in doctrine and in the example of true humility,” she died on April 20, 1317.
Benedict XIII enrolled her among the holy virgins on Dec. 10, 1726.
Proprium Officiorum Ordinis Praedicatorum ad Normam Decretorum Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II Instauratum Vincentii Couesnongle iussu editum, Editio typica, Sanctae Sabinae, Romae 1982.
