He was born and died in Rome (291-304). Among the first martyrs In Christianity, St. Agnes, a virgin, is one of the most venerated. In Greek her name means "pure", "chaste". Her Latin name, Agnes, is associated with Agnus, which means lamb. In the year 324 the Basilica of Saint Agnes Outside the Wallsbuilt at the request of Constance, daughter of the Emperor Constantine, on the ruins of catacombs where the remains of St. Agnes were found.
Tradition has it that the young girl, who was only thirteen years old, wanted to be caste for love of Christ and rejected the son of the Prefect of Rome who, in retaliation, wanted to make her join the circle of vestals who worshipped the goddess protector of Rome. Faced with her new rejection, she had to move from the temple to a brothel, but Agnes managed to preserve her purity.
Iconography usually depicts Agnes with a lamb because her destiny is that reserved for little lambs. Every January 21, liturgical feast of the saint, a pair of lambs raised by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth is blessed. With their wool, the nuns make the sacred palios which the Pope imposes on new metropolitan archbishops every June 29.
