Agnes of Assisi

Agnes of Assisi (* 1197 or 1198 in Assisi , Italy ; † November 16, 1253 in San Damiano near Assisi) was Poor Clare and the sister of St. Clare of Assisi .

Life

Agnes came from the rich Italian aristocratic family of the Offreducci in Assisi. At the beginning of April 1212, she followed her sister Clare to San Damiano , who had entered the community she founded there just sixteen days before her, in order to lead a life as a nun based on the example of St. Francis of Assisi .

Her family's attempt to kidnap her from there failed: Her uncle Monaldo had been sent out with armed horsemen to force Agnes to return. Legend has it that his sword failed him when he raised it against Agnes. Even when the riders tried to drag Agnes out of the monastery, her body had become so heavy that all their efforts were unsuccessful.

Around the year 1220 (1219 or 1221), Francis of Assisi, in consultation with Cardinal Hugolin , gave her the direction of the convent of Monticelli , near Florence . From Monticelli, Agnes founded several monasteries, including the monasteries in Mantua , Venice and Padua .

In 1253 she returned to San Damiano to the deathbed of her sister Klara , who died on August 11th of the same year. Agnes followed her only a short time later.

Her body was buried next to that of her sister in the Church of Santa Chiara in Assisi.

Pope Benedict XIV canonized Agnes of Assisi in 1753.

Remembrance day

• Catholic: November 16 (as a feast of the Franciscan religious family: November 19)

literature

• Ekkart Sauser :  Agnes of Assisi. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 15, Bautz, Herzberg 1999, ISBN 3-88309-077-8 , column 7.
• Paschal Robinson:  St. Agnes of Assisi . In: Catholic Encyclopedia , Volume 1, Robert Appleton Company, New York 1907.

Web links

• Agnes of Assisi in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints