St. Agnes was a girl of about twelve or thirteen who chose to die rather than give up Christ, around the year 304, and became one of the most beloved martyrs of Rome. St. Ambrose marveled that a child too young to be punished by law was old enough to be a witness for Christ. Her name is spoken in the Roman Canon of the Mass, and every year on her feast, January 21, two lambs are blessed in her basilica in Rome and their wool is woven into the pallium worn by archbishops. Below are two traditional prayers to St. Agnes from The Raccolta, prayers for girls and young people and for purity, Scripture and her story.
The traditional prayer to St. Agnes
Indulgenced by Blessed Pius IX in 1854. From The Raccolta (1910):
Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, Source of all virtue, Lover of virgins, most powerful Conqueror of demons, most severe Extirpator of vice, deign to cast thy eyes upon my weakness, and through the intercession of Mary most blessed, Mother and Virgin, and of thy beloved spouse, St. Agnes, glorious virgin and martyr, grant me the aid of thy heavenly grace, in order that I may learn to despise all earthly things, and to love what is heavenly; to oppose vice, and to be proof against temptation; to walk firmly in the path of virtue, not to seek honours, to shun pleasures, to bewail my past offences, to keep far from the occasions of evil, to keep free from bad habits, to seek the company of the good, and persevere in righteousness, so that, by the assistance of thy grace, I may deserve the crown of eternal life, together with St. Agnes and all the saints, for ever and ever, in thy kingdom. Amen.
A prayer to St. Agnes for faith
The first of three prayers indulgenced by Pope Leo XIII in 1886, followed by an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be:
Singular example of virtue, glorious St. Agnes, by that lively faith which animated thee from thy most tender years, and rendered thee so acceptable to God that thou didst merit the crown of martyrdom; obtain for us the grace to preserve entire in our hearts the Catholic Faith, and sincerely to profess ourselves Christians not only in word but also in deed; so that while we confess Jesus openly in the face of men, Jesus may give favourable testimony of us before his Heavenly Father.
A prayer for girls and young people
Written for this page:
St. Agnes, you were only a girl when you gave your life for Jesus.
Watch over our daughters and all young people, especially (name).
Protect them from those who would harm or use them,
help them to know their dignity as daughters and sons of God,
and give them courage to follow Christ. Amen.
A prayer for purity
St. Agnes, lamb of Christ,
help me to keep my heart, my mind and my body pure.
When I am tempted, give me your courage;
when I fall, lead me back to Jesus’ mercy. Amen.
This prayer was written for this page.
Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.
The story of St. Agnes
Agnes belonged to a Christian family of Rome during the last great persecution under the emperor Diocletian. According to the accounts of her martyrdom, she was very beautiful, and many young men of noble families wanted to marry her, but she answered that she had already consecrated herself to Christ as her spouse. Denounced as a Christian, she was ordered to offer incense to the pagan gods and refused. To break her, the authorities sent her to a house of prostitution, but she was protected: one account says her hair grew to cover her, and the one man who tried to touch her was struck blind. Finally she was put to death by the sword.
She was buried in a catacomb on the Via Nomentana, where the emperor Constantine’s daughter, Constantina, later built a basilica in her honor, and the church of Sant’Agnese fuori le Mura still stands there. St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine and Pope Damasus all praised her. Her name, Agnes, recalls both the Latin agnus, “lamb,” and the Greek hagnē, “pure,” and she is often painted holding a lamb.
The blessing of the lambs
Each year on January 21 two young lambs, raised by the Trappist monks of Tre Fontane, are blessed in the Basilica of Sant’Agnese fuori le Mura in Rome and then presented to the Pope. Benedictine sisters in Rome then care for them, shear them in spring and weave their wool into pallia, the white woolen bands the Pope gives to new metropolitan archbishops on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29, as a sign of their bond with the successor of Peter and of their duty as shepherds.
Feast day and patronage
- Feast day: January 21. A novena can run from January 12 to 20.
- Patron of: girls and young people, chastity, engaged couples, rape survivors, and gardeners.
- Symbols: a lamb, the martyr’s palm, and a sword.
Frequently asked questions
When is St. Agnes’s feast day?
January 21.
What is St. Agnes the patron saint of?
Girls, young people, purity, engaged couples and survivors of sexual violence.
How old was St. Agnes when she died?
About twelve or thirteen, according to St. Ambrose and St. Augustine.
Why is St. Agnes shown with a lamb?
Because her name resembles the Latin word for lamb, agnus, and because she followed Christ, the Lamb of God, with the innocence of a lamb.
More prayers
- St. Lucy prayer
- St. Agatha prayer
- St. Cecilia prayer
- St. Maria Goretti prayer
- Prayers to popular saints
- Saint feast days
Texts and sources
- Prayers: The Raccolta, or Collection of Indulgenced Prayers and Good Works (London: Burns and Oates, 1910), nos. 379 and 380, public domain (archive.org).
- St. Ambrose, On Virgins I.2.
- Scripture: Matthew 5:8, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The other prayers were written for this page.