Saint of the Month - April 2017: Saint Agnes of Montepulciano

St. Agnes of Montepulciano

A Wondrous Sign from God

Feast: April 20th

St. Agnes Segni was born in the little Tuscan town of Graciano Vecchio on January 28, 1268, to a noble family of ancient lineage. Her given name, it seems, was highly appropriate because her first name, “Agnes”, is derived from the Italian word for “lamb” (hence, a lamb is often pictured with her) and her last name, “Segni”, is the word for “signs”; indeed, she lived a pure, sacrificial life in imitation of Jesus, the Lamb of God, and her virtuous life and miracles were visible signs of God’s supernatural presence among the people of her time.

Indications of God's favor began from the very first moments of Agnes' earthly existence - her birth was said to have been heralded by brilliant lights that surrounded the Segni home on the night that she was born. Her pious disposition and attraction to prayer were evident from her earliest years and, at the age of 6, she began pestering her parents about allowing her to enter a convent. She was drawn to an enclosure in nearby Montepulciano where a group of women - living under the Franciscan ideal - lived in strict poverty and penance. The people called them the “Suore del Sacco (Sisters of the Sack)” because of the rough, sack-cloth habits they wore. Agnes’ parents, at first, refused her requests because of her age, but to pacify her, her devout mother often took her on visits to the convent so she could at least be near the Sisters whose company she desired to join.

St. Agnes received the Eucharist
from the hands of angels.

It was during one of these visits to the convent that another significant event took place in Agnes’ childhood. While passing a hill in Montepulciano on which a local brothel was situated, a flock of crows suddenly swooped down upon the little girl, viciously clawing at her. Her mother and the servants in the traveling party managed to fight off the birds, leaving them all a bit shaken by the ominous attack. They surmised that the crows were really demons in disguise, who were threatened by Agnes’ goodness and her close proximity to their lair. Later, we shall see that this very same location figured prominently in the Saint’s life. 

After persistently begging for permission to become a nun, her parents finally gave in to Agnes and allowed her to join the Suore del Sacco. She was only 9-years-old when she entered the convent (remarkable!). Once among the Sisters, the child naturally took to religious life and quickly progressed on the path of spiritual growth. In addition to exercising prayer and virtue to strengthen her spirit, Agnes also practiced mortification to bring her physical body in line with the lofty aspirations of her soul: she fasted continuously on bread and water, and went so far as to sleep on the bare floor using a large rock for a pillow. 

By 1281, Agnes's community was so famed for its virtuous occupants, the sisters were asked to establish another foundation in the neighboring town of Procena. Our young Saint was part of the group that went to establish the new convent and, two years later, at just 15-years-old, she was elected Abbess. A special papal dispensation was needed for Agnes to assume the role and it was granted by Pope Nicholas IV. During the ceremony to install her as Abbess, another sign from Heaven was given - the miracle of the “manna”. White cross-shaped flakes of an unknown substance materialized in the air and floated gently like snowflakes onto the new Abbess, as well as, on the rest of the congregation, covering their clothes and the floor. The miracle of the manna was repeated many other times in Agnes’ life and was often witnessed whenever she was in ecstatic prayer. Hence, the reason why the Saint is sometimes pictured with tiny white crosses sprinkled on her habit (see the photo above). 

Indeed, many extraordinary signs appeared to confirm Agnes’ sanctity throughout her career as a nun; too many to mention in this blog, but to cite just a few examples: 

+ Apparitions of Jesus & Mary:  Agnes experienced many personal visits from our Lord and his Holy Mother. On one memorable occasion, she was given the Christ-Child to hold by Our Lady. After she reluctantly returned Baby Jesus to his mother, Agnes awoke from her ecstasy to find herself clutching the golden cross that the Holy Infant had worn around his neck. She treasured this precious relic for the rest of her life. In another vision, the Madonna handed Agnes three small rocks with the instruction that she keep them safe. Mary went on to say that they represented the Holy Trinity and, one day, the nun would use these humble stones to build a new convent. 

+ Familiarity with Angels:  Agnes had a profound love for the Eucharist and, as such, she was privileged on several occasions to receive Holy Communion from the hands of God’s special messengers… and once, while meditating on the sorrowful Passion of Christ, an angel appeared to Agnes and gave her a handful of soil. The angel explained that the dirt was blessed in that it was taken from the Garden of Olives where Jesus had undergone his terrible agony and sweat of blood. 

+ The Gift of Miracles:  Agnes’s charity and generosity towards those less fortunate was well-known to the people of her town. During times of scarcity, the convent’s provisions were never lacking. Through her prayer and/or blessing, food was either mysteriously supplied or simply multiplied so that the nuns and the poor who came to them were never left wanting. In addition, there were reports of levitation, prophecy, and... most astoundingly - the raising of a dead person to life! In regards to the resurrection incident, it occurred towards the end of the Saint's life. Agnes was convalescing from an illness at the medicinal springs of Chianciano, when a drowned child was brought to her. Moved with pity at the sad plight of the parents she took the limp body into her arms and prayed – soon after, she returned the child, alive, to its parents. 

St. Agnes contemplating the Christ Child
during one of her many visions.

Under Agnes’ guidance, the Suore del Sacco prospered and grew in Proceno. However, the inhabitants of Montepulciano missed their resident miracle-worker so the city officials decided to lure the Abbess back by offering her a certain plot of land with an existing structure to found yet another convent. Agnes, not one to pass up an opportunity to glorify God, accepted and, as it turned out, the site was the hill-top brothel where she had once been attacked by crows! In 1306 she returned to Montepulciano and took possession of the property; the former brothel was renovated and consecrated to suit convent life. When the construction work began, she placed the three stones given her by Our Lady into the foundation, thus, fulfilling the Madonna’s prophetic words to her. 

Up until that time, Agnes had lived under the Franciscan Rule but this was about to change. Sometime during the renovation of the Montepulciano convent, she had a vision of three large ships with St. Augustine of Hippo (d. 430), St. Francis of Assisi (d. 1226), and St. Dominic de Guzman (d. 1221) standing at the helm of each. She understood that each ship represented the illustrious Orders of their respective founders and, when she was undecided about which ship to board, it was St. Dominic who spoke up: “Agnes will sail in my ship; that is the Will of God.”  It settled the matter and the new convent was established under the Rule of the Dominican Order.

After the convent was completed, it became the spiritual center of Montepulciano; a powerhouse of prayer, penance, and benediction, thanks to Agnes' influence. Except for a time when she traveled to Rome on pilgrimage to various holy sites, Agnes spent the rest of her life there, in contemplative prayer and counseling those who sought her advice and blessing. At times she also played peacemaker between quarreling factions or families - a role she played effectively. She died in 1317 at the age of 49 after suffering failing health in the final year of her life. The Saint consoled her grieving spiritual daughters by telling them, "You will discover that I have not abandoned you.  You will possess me forever."

In fact, after the Abbess died, the Dominican Sisters intended to have her body embalmed... but instead, it maintained a lifelike appearance and suppleness... and gave off a wonderful fragrance that delighted the nuns. Furthermore, a scented balm began dripping from Agnes' hands and feet, which the nuns then collected and preserved in glass jars. Perhaps, because of all the wondrous phenomena that surrounded the Saint's body, it was never properly interred; none-the-less, it also never decayed and became a focal point of pilgrimage in Tuscany. It is still admirably intact to this very day... so even in death, Agnes continues to be a visible sign of the supernatural.

The incorrupt body of St. Agnes Segni,

as venerated in Montepulciano.

In regards to the pilgrimages that developed around her relics, one famous pilgrim to Montepulciano was none other than St. Catherine of Siena (d. 1380), who had a deep devotion to her fellow Dominican Sister. In 1374 (nearly 60 years after Agnes' death), Catherine visited Agnes' convent where her niece, Eugenia, also happened to be a nun. There, she lovingly venerated the incorrupt body of the holy Abbess and, as Catherine stooped to kiss its foot, Agnes' body raised its foot to meet her lips... seemingly out of humility and courtesy - to keep Catherine from having to bow too low before her! Catherine, deeply moved, kissed the sacred foot and gently lowered the leg back to its original position.

On a later pilgrimage to the convent, Catherine took a position away from the body's feet to avoid a repeat miracle, however, it did not deter Agnes from gifting her with another sign - the miracle of the manna! The white flakes appeared and fluttered down onto Catherine and her entourage while they prayed before the hallowed remains.

St. Agnes' dead body raises a foot for

St. Catherine of Siena to kiss.  The latter

venerated the bodily relic, at least twice,

and received favors from the Saint

on each occasion.

The Church declared Agnes Segni a Saint in 1796. May she pray for our personal needs and the needs of the universal Church.

A Reflection

Like St. Agnes of Montepulciano, we are all called to be signs of God's presence in the world.

A Short Prayer

O Lord, grant us the grace to live in a manner that will draw others to YOU; living signs of your love and presence in this world, especially for those most in need of your grace and mercy.  Amen.