some of them might be sent to dwell in
their midst. Agnes was one of the
number, and was soon made superior of
a new monastery of the Order of St.
Augustine, which the Procenese built
when the number of their nuns had considerably increased. After some years
she returned to Montepulciano, and built
a new church and monastery, in which she
established the rule of St. Dominic. She
made a pilgrimage to Rome, where
she obtained relics of SS. Peter and Paul.
She died at Montepulciano, in her
49th year. The family to which she
longed afterwards became one of the
most considerable in Montepulciano, but
is now extinct. From the day of her
death, in 1317, the people styled her
"Saint." Her worship was encouraged
by several Popes, and her name inserted
in the Roman Martyrology with the title
of "Saint," but she was not formally
canonized until the time of Benedict
XIII., 1726. Thuribius, archbishop of
Siona, and James de la Marche were
canonized at the same time, and are
sometimes represented with her on that
account. It is said that her body was
embalmed by supernatural means, imme-
diately after her death, and that when she
had been dead fifty years, she opened
her eyes and smiled on the Emperor
Charles IV., who ever afterwards had a
special devotion to this saint.
Of all the Saints Agnes, here or elsewhere enumerated, this and the great St. Agnes (2) are the only two in the Roman Martyrology, besides St. Agnes of Assisi, who is mentioned in the Franciscan part of the Appendix to the R.M. Modern Saints, sanctioned by the Fathers of the Oratory, from an Italian Biography, published at Siena, 1779. Cahier. Butler. Baillet.
B. Agnes (24) of Bavaria, Nov. 11. 1352. Daughter of Louis, duke of Bavaria, afterwards emperor of Germany. Agnes was brought up in a Clarissan monastery at Munich. When her parents thought her old enough to appear at court, they sent for her; but so great was her fear of the snares of the world that she threw herself down before the tabernacle, and firmly embraced the pedestal of it, crying out, "Divine Jesus, let me never be separated from Thee." Her prayer was heard; she suddenly fell ill and died. Commemorated by the Franciscan nuns of Munich. Guérin, Petits Bollandistes.
B. Agnes (25) of Siena, V. O.S.D. Supposed to have died about 1390. Nun in the convent of Monteregio at Siena. Miracles are attributed to her. Pio, Uomini e donne.
B. Agnes (26) Benincasa, 3rd O.S.D. 14th century. Sister of James Benincasa, who was father of St. Catherine (3) of Siena. Agnes married Chele di Duccio. After his death she joined the Sisters of Penance, then called Mantellate. Her portrait is painted in the dormitory of the convent of St. Dominic at Siena, inscribed with the words, "Beata Agnese Benincasa." Mrs. Drane, Life of St. Catherine of Siena, 1880.
St. Agnes (27) of Monçada, Jan. 21, V. 14th century. Inspired with a love of celibacy and seclusion by the preach- ing of St. Vincent Ferrer, at Valencia. Her parents insisted on her marrying; so, disguised as a man, she fled and concealed herself, for twenty years, in a cave near the Carthusian convent called Porta-coeli, the place of her retreat being known only to the dwellers in heaven. After her death her sanctity was attested by miracles. Bollandus did not know of any authority for her worship. Jan. 21 was assigned to her as the day of her great patroness, St. Agnes (2). St. Vincent Ferrer died in 1419; he was a Dominican monk at Valencia; a preacher famous all over Europe; and was sent for to England by Henry IV.
B. Agnes (28) of Ferro or Terro, June 13 or 15. 15th century. Widow. Third O.S.F. Belonged both by birth and marriage to very illustrious families of Aragon. She was an attendant on the queen of Aragon, mother of Ferdinand the Catholic. Weary of court life, she retired from the world, gave her money to the poor, took the name of Mary of Jesus, and became a nun of the Third Order of St. Francis, at Ulmet, in the diocese of Avila. She is mentioned in the Ordenskalender, in Burns' Calendar of the Franciscan Order, and in Monstier's
