Agnes of Montepulciano

Ceramic mosaic of Agnes of Montepulciano, 17th century ( Museo Bellas Artes de Sevilla )

Agnes von Montepulciano receives communion from an angel, high altar relief in the Dominican church in Friesach , late 19th century

Agnes of Montepulciano (* 1268 or 1274 in Montepulciano ; † 20th April 1317 ibid) was a mystic and visionary Dominican Sisters - Mother Superior . She is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church .

hagiography

Agnes von Montepulciano was born to pious, wealthy parents. Her mother taught her the Our Father and the Ave Maria from a very young age . As a child, Agnes often went to a corner of the house to pray. She saw this as her task. She was always happy to see a picture of Mary . At the age of six, she told her parents that she planned to live in a virgin state and later go to the monastery. At first the parents thought this was a child's wish, but the older Agnes got, the more mature her decision became. The parents agreed to their child's request and took her to a monastery of St. Dominic .

In the monastery, Agnes was characterized by unconditional obedience, especially when it came to punctuality. The abbess of the monastery predicted a great future for her. At the age of only 16, Agnes was appointed superior by the conventuals of the newly founded Dominican convent in Proceno . Pope Nicholas IV confirmed this unusual choice. At first Agnes did not want to accept the dignity, but obeyed the instruction of the Pope. Her asceticism became so great that the confessor had to forbid her to fast. She even forgot to receive Holy Communion . When she realized this, she fell into deep grief. But God sent her an angel who gave her the holy sacrament. From now on, Jesus appeared to her many times to give her secret revelations; likewise Mary appeared to her repeatedly with the child in her arms. In one of these apparitions, the child wore a pearl necklace, which Agnes took with the permission of the mother of Jesus and carried with her until her death. From her she also received the gift of looking into people's hearts, predicting future events and healing the sick.

Agnes' reputation soon spread and the residents of Montepulciano urged her to return to the city and bless her. Agnes consented on the condition that a house in which dissolute women stayed, be converted into a monastery. In addition, she was dependent on the consent of her superiors, who followed up on her request. Agnes herself took over the cleaning of the house, then moved in and had it blessed. She took in some virgins with whom she lived there. She was plagued by illness and slander, but she was always in good spirits. She wanted to atone for her sins and die so that she could be with Christ forever. Another illness threw her on her deathbed, where her sisters gathered in mourning for her. Agnes died on April 20, 1317.

Worship and iconography

Raimund von Capua wrote down Agnes' vita in 1366 , referring to statements made by her students.

1726 she was by Pope Benedict XIII. canonized . Her feast day is April 20th.

Agnes is depicted in a black Dominican habit, often with a lamb and a lily branch .

literature

• Abele L. Redigonda:  Agnese Segni da Montepulciano, santa. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 1:  Aaron – Albertucci. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1960.

Web links

Commons : Agnes von Montepulciano  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry at santiebeati.it (Italian)