Saint of the Month - October 2018: Blessed Agnes of Jesus

Bl. Agnes [Galand] of Jesus

A Victim Soul for Priests

Memorial: October 19th

Agnes Galand, the future Bl. Agnes of Jesus, was born in Puy-en-Velay, France, on November 17, 1602.  She was the third child of seven born to a humble but highly pious couple.  According to one biography, Agnes was precocious as a little girl and God's extraordinary designs were manifested very early on with her - she shied away from the presence of men and avoided frivolity in the playmates she engaged with.  Rather, she was drawn to frequent prayer; maintained modesty in dress and demeanor; practiced voluntary penances (she wore a penitential belt and fasted); and exercised charitable acts towards the less fortunate, which elicited respect not just from her parents but also from their neighbors.

It was reported that, at the age of seven, Agnes pronounced a private vow of virginity and experienced her first of many attacks from demons under the form of menacing black dogs that charged at her.  Agnes firmly rebuked the evil spirits, who immediately dispersed.  What followed after this pivotal event was the quick blossoming of virtue and heavenly consolations that included familiar interactions with the Christ Child and her guardian angel.

In 1621, after overcoming her father's initial resistance, Agnes entered a Dominican monastery as a tertiary under the name Sr. Agnes of Jesus.  When a new monastery was planned in Langeac she was dispatched with a small group of companions to found the establishment and was professed there in 1623.  The Lord appeared to Agnes after her profession and presented her with a ring as a token of their espousal; it was a signal grace that was only visible to the nun.  On the same day, the demons that had intermittently harassed her were no longer able to physically touch her, but they continued to appear on occasion in their vain attempts to intimidate Agnes.

The Servant of God, Fr. Jean-Jacques
Olier who founded the Sulpicians.

In the monastery, Sr. Agnes was the cause of both admiration and controversy among her fellow nuns.  It was evident to the others that she was sincerely fervent, but the mystical phenomena surrounding her made some uneasy.  There were now also frequent ecstasies that sometimes lasted for hours at a time.  After one such rapture, small painful red marks in the shape of crosses appeared on her hands and feet - the Stigmata - which Agnes begged the Lord to take away any visible signs of.  The prayer was soon heard and the wounds vanished leaving only the sensation of pain. In particular, her mystical sufferings were most intense on Fridays.

After being subjected to various tests and humiliations by her superiors, Sr. Agnes won the community over with her unfailing obedience and docility.  She was eventually elected to the post of prioress in 1627 at the age of 25.

In 1631, there was another significant event in Sr. Agnes' life, which her biographies all cite - Our Lady appeared to the prioress and spoke the following: "Pray for the abbot of Pebrac" who was a young priest named Fr. Jean-Jacques Olier.  The prioress had never met or heard of the man, but she naturally did as she was told and began offering prayers and sacrifices for him.  Two years later, while Fr. Jean-Jacques was at prayer, he had a clear vision of a nun who approached him from the midst of a bright light.  The mysterious woman spoke to him saying, "I am praying for you."

It wasn't until two years later that Fr. Jean-Jacques  learned the identity of his spiritual benefactor - hearing rumors of a holy nun living in Langeac, he felt an urge to meet her.  During their very first meeting he was surprised to recognize the nun from his vision and Agnes confirmed it before proceeding to accurately predict the course of his life.  They became life-long friends ever since; meeting a few times more to offer each other guidance whenever each needed it.

Fr. Jean-Jacques went on to found a seminary and the Society of St. Sulpice, an organization dedicated to the strict training of priests in their pastoral work and in their personal spiritual life.  Having died in 1657, after living an exemplary life, he is now a candidate for sainthood, himself.

A portrait of Bl. Agnes with a
leather pouch enclosing a piece of
her original burial shroud.

Sr. Agnes lived out the rest of her days in continual sacrifice for the work of Fr. Jean-Jacques, for the sanctification of priests, and in reparation for the sins of her times.  If her spiritual sufferings were not enough, she was also subjected to moral trials.  For a short while she was deposed as prioress by a small group of nuns who were motivated by jealousy over her quick ascent to the office of superior.  Agnes was slandered to the bishop who ordered the election of a new prioress... but she was eventually vindicated and reelected.

All throughout her difficult moments of crisis, Sr. Agnes maintained humility and a profound tranquility, as only a true bride of Christ could possess.  Jesus, on his part, sustained her with remarkable consolations that included miraculous communions brought to her either by himself, or through the agency of her angel.

The saintly prioress died in the odor of sanctity on October 19, 1634; she was only 31-years-old.  Before her death she instilled in her nuns the legacy of praying for the sanctification of priests; a worthy practice that we should all strive to emulate.

Bl. Agnes of Jesus was Beatified on November 20, 1994.  Her sacred relics still rest in the Dominican Monastery of St. Catherine in Langeac.

A Short Prayer:

Lord, in imitation of your saintly bride - Bl. Agnes of Jesus - we intercede for the sanctification of our priests.  Grant the Universal Church worthy and holy vocations in abundance.  Bl. Agnes, pray for us.  Amen.