St. Agnes of Montepulciano was born in 13th-century Tuscany. She expressed a desire to give her life to God and practiced pious exercises from an early age. Now and then, her parents gave in to her requests to visit the various convents in town.
On one such occasion, Agnes and her mother were passing a house of ill repute, when a flock of crows suddenly descended upon her, pecking and scratching the little girl. Her mother remarked that the crows represented demonic forces threatened by her purity.
At the age of six, Agnes began trying to convince her parents to allow her to join a convent. She was finally admitted to the Dominican convent at Montepulciano at age nine despite it generally being against Church law to allow a child so young to join.
Agnes' reputation for holiness attracted other sisters, and she became an abbess at the unheard-of age of 15. She insisted on greater austerities in the abbey. She lived on bread and water for 15 years, slept on the ground and used a stone for a pillow.
Small white flakes in the form of crosses used to fall gently from the heavens in celebration. It is said that the sisters have preserved some of these until today. In 1306, God inspired Agnes to find a Dominican convent with three stones given to her by the Blessed Mother in honour of the Trinity.
The Blessed Mother had visited Agnes many times. On one of these occasions, she allowed Agnes to hold the Christ Child, but Agnes showed great reluctance in giving him back.
Shortly before her death, Saint Agnes was sent to bathe in springs that were thought to have curative powers. The waters did nothing to help Agnes, though a new spring emerged close by which did indeed have curative power. It was given the name “the Water of Saint Agnes.” While there, the saint prayed over a child who had recently drowned, bringing the child back to life.
Agnes then went back to the monastery, where she died on April 20th, 1317, at the age of only 43. Her body was found to be incorrupt, and a mysterious, sweet-smelling liquid was observed to stream from both her hands and feet.
When Saint Catherine of Siena went to pray before Saint Agnes’ incorrupt body, the deceased saint lifted her foot for Saint Catherine to kiss. She also revealed to Saint Catherine that they would both enjoy the same amount of glory in heaven.
St Agnes of Montepulciano was solemnly canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. Her feast day is on April 20th.
Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Servilian
2. Saint Zoticus
3. Saint Victor
4. Saint Theonas
5. Saint Severianus