In 1205, the king and queen of Bohemia gave birth to a daughter and named her Agnes after the martyred saint. She was educated by Cistercian nuns in Germany and felt a call to religious life as a child. Her parents, however, had other plans, and for political reasons, they promised her hand in marriage several times to several different men from the age of three, but in the end, Agnes was released to pursue the life of a religious. She joined the Franciscan Order of St. Clare, and she distinguished herself through fervent prayer, obedience to the order, humility, poverty, and many self-imposed penances. The pope wanted her to be the abbess of her cloister, but she humbly wished to only be called “the senior sister”. She died of natural causes in 1282.
CHALLENGE
Though a princess at birth, St. Agnes of Prague spent her inheritance to build the monastery for the Poor Clares and had a special love for the poor. She built a hospital for them and mended the clothes of lepers. Today, support your parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Society with a financial donation, or a gift of clothes or food. If the Holy Spirit moves you to do more, consider joining them in their mission.
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