Around
the year 1268 in the Tuscan village of Gracchiano-Vecchio, a child was
born to a well-to-do couple, a little girl who was to become one of the
great women saints of the Dominican Order.
Attracted to prayer
from an early age, even as a child Agnes would spend hours on her knees
praying the Our Father and Hail Mary. At nine years of age, she
convinced her parents to place her in the nearby Franciscan monastery at
Montelpuciano. In the austerity of monastic life, she advanced in
virtue by leaps and bounds.
Five years later, Agnes was called
upon to leave Montepulciano to assist in the foundation of a new convent
in Proceno. As soon as it was known that Agnes was at Proceno, several
girls offered themselves as postulants. With special papal dispensation,
the fifteen-year-old Agnes was elected abbess.
From that day
onwards, she redoubled her austerities, living for fifteen years on
bread and water, and sleeping on the ground with a stone pillow.
Still,
the inhabitants of Montelpuciano pined for their now famous saint, and
on the plans to build a new convent for her, she returned. The
establishment flourished under her rule and guidance, and she remained
prioress of this convent until her death.
In her later years, she
suffered from a painful illness but did not allow this condition to
interfere with her duties. She died at the age of forty-nine.
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
St. Agnes of Montepulciano
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