Died August 252 or 304AD.
Agnes of Rome, also known as Saint Agnes, (died c. 304), was a virgin martyr who, according to tradition, was martyred in Rome during the reign of the emperor Diocletian. She is widely venerated as a Christian saint, and her feast day is celebrated on January 21.
According to the early 4th-century biography Acta Santarum, Agnes was a beautiful and pious young woman who had dedicated herself to God. It is said that during the persecution of Christians under Diocletian, Agnes' beauty attracted the attention of the son of the city's prefect. When she refused his advances, he had her arrested and brought before the prefect, who ordered her to denounce her Christian faith. Agnes refused and was condemned to death. She was then tortured and ultimately beheaded.
St. Agnes became a symbol of purity and chastity for Christians after she died. She was widely venerated as a saint, and her feast day became one of the most important in the Christian calendar. Her name was included in the canon of the Roman Mass, and she is often depicted in art as a young woman holding a lamb or a palm frond, symbols of her purity and martyrdom.
Agnes was considered a saint before there were any official lists of saints. Even at that time, people saw her as a heroic martyr who had died for her beliefs. Her story is one of the reasons that she became a saint. People started writing about her martyrdom in the 300s, and by the 500s, she had become one of the most well-known saints in Europe.
There is nothing in the original Acta about her age. The "young" epithet appears to have been added later, perhaps to emphasize the purity associated with virgins. The Acta Sanctorum Bollandists date her birth to 291, making her 12 to 13 years old at her death.
One of the things that makes Agnes's sainthood special is that she is often depicted with a lamb. This is because her name is similar to the Latin word for "lamb," which is agnus. In art, the lamb is often used as a symbol of purity, innocence, and sacrificial love. This is fitting for her because she is said to have been a pure, innocent young woman who willingly sacrificed her life for her beliefs.
Agnes is a saint who is known for more than just one thing. She represents several things: purity, innocence, and sacrificial love. She is also a reminder of the early Christian martyrs who were willing to die for their beliefs.