| St. Agnes of Montepulciano, O.P. | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1268 Montepulciano in Tuscany |
| Died | c. 1317 Montepulciano in Tuscany |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Canonized | 1726 by Benedict XIII |
| Feast | 20 April |
Saint Agnes of Montepulciano, O.P., (in Italian: Agnese Segni di Montepulciano) (1268–1317) was born into a noble family in Gracciano, a small village near Montepulciano in Tuscany, Italy, where, at the age of nine, she entered the monastery of the Dominican nuns of the Second Order.
In 1281, the lord of the castle of Proceno, a fief of Orvieto, invited the nuns of Montepulciano to send some of their Sisters to Proceno to found a new monastery. Agnes was among the nuns sent to found this new community.
In 1288 Agnes, despite her youth at only 20 years of age, was elected as prioress. There she gained a reputation for performing miracles: people suffering from mental and physical ailments seemed cured by her presence. She was reported to have "multiplied loaves", creating many from a few on numerous occasions, recalling the Gospel miracle of the loaves and fishes.
Later about 1306, Agnes established a monastery of Dominican nuns in Gracciano. She presided over this monastery until her death. After her death, her body was said to remain incorrupt, rather than decomposing. It was reported that a perfumed liquid flowed from her hands and feet.
The Dominican friar Raymond of Capua, who served as confessor to Saint Catherine of Siena, wrote an account of Agnes some fifty years later. St. Catherine herself referred to her as "Our mother, the glorious Agnes."
Agnes of Montepulciano was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. Her feast day is April 20.