Agnes of Montepulciano, Saint

AGNES OF MONTEPULCIANO, Saint. - Dominican, b. at Gracciano Vecchio in 1274 (or 1268 or even earlier), d. at Montepulciano on 20 April 1317. At the age of nine she entered the monastery of the Sisters of the Sack in nearby Montepulciano, where she was noted for her singular piety. At thirteen she was appointed cellarer of the community. At the request of delegates from Proceno, a small village in the diocese of Acquapendente, in the province of Viterbo, she was sent there together with Sister Margherita, formerly mistress of novices, to establish a new house. At the age of 15 A. was elected superior and confirmed by the ecclesiastical authority, receiving the blessing of abbess. Having returned to Montepulciano, she erected a new monastery, called S. Maria Novella, outside the gate of Gracciano. Dated from 31 July to 20 Sept. 1306, we have the documents concerning the foundation, the profession of A. and her companions, made in the hands of the Servite prior fra Bonaventura Forteguerri, under whose direction the sisters passed, and the appointment of A. as abbess. Blessed Raymond asserts that, after a certain time, the monastery was placed under the care of the Dominicans (Acta SS. Aprilis, II, p. 800, 48). From then on he calls her prioress (ibid., p. 805, 73 ff.). Gravely ill, the Saint used the waters of Chianciano, where a spring obtained her name. In her cloistered life, simple, humble and austere, prayer dominates even in its most extraordinary manifestations. After her death she was much venerated, in particular by St. Catherine in 1374. Her feast was celebrated at Montepulciano from 1532, and in the Dominican Order from 1601. Benedict XIII canonized her on 10 Dec. 1726.

Angelo Walz