Our Patron, Saint Agnes

Agnes, the young daughter of a wealthy Roman family, is beautiful and well spoken of, and thus desirable as a bride. A young man approaches her with an offer of marriage. Thinking his wealth and position as the son of Caius, an official of Rome, would make his offer impossible to refuse, he is astonished when Agnes rejects him. Clutching God’s Word to her chest, she replies, “To hope that any other will please me does wrong to my Spouse. I will be his who first chose me for himself.” The white roses symbolize Agnes’ purity and innocence.

Humiliated by Agnes’ rejection, the young suitor has Agnes arrested for being a Christian. She is put on trial before a scornful judge. When Agnes confesses that she worships Jesus Christ as the true God, the judge offers the young virgin a hideous choice: either renounce her faith and enter the service of the goddess Vesta, or be sent to remain at a brothel. Pointing to heaven, Agnes echoes words from the book of Daniel as she confesses her faith. “The God who redeemed me is also able to deliver me from harm. But even if he does not, know that I will never worship your gods or serve them.” We are reminded of Christ when, under trial by Pontius Pilate, refused to defend himself, but only witnessed to the truth.

When Agnes refuses to devote herself to the goddess Vesta, the judge orders her sent to a brothel and stripped. But rather than despair, Agnes prays to Christ, and her hair grows miraculously to cover her nakedness. God also provides an angel to protect her from harm, clothing her in a garment. The posture of Agnes’ folded hands is parallel to depictions of Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, reminding us of his perfect trust in the Father in times of distress. The lamb seated at the foot of the bench represents her innocence and foreshadows the manner of her death.

When Agnes’ spurned suitor comes to the brothel to force himself on her, the angel strikes him dead. Assuming that she wields magic, the grief-stricken Caius pleads to Agnes to restore his son’s life to him. She denies having any power of her own, but instead prays to God to restore the man’s life. When God grants her request, Agnes is condemned as a sorceress and sentenced to burn. Agnes followed our Lord’s example, who, when being nailed to the cross, prayed for his enemies rather than cursing them.

Agnes is undeterred in her faithfulness to her Savior. Claiming him as her only spouse, she willingly goes to her place of execution, as our Lord went to his. But even the flames will not consume her innocent life. Agnes prays, and offers her neck to the executioner. Filled with fear, the executioner takes her life with the sword. We do not see his face; he appears to us as inhuman. But the light clings to Agnes as she is killed. Saint Ambrose says of her, “Agnes preserved her virginity, and gained a martyr’s crown.” The soldier piercing Agnes reminds the viewer of the soldier that pierced our Lord’s side.

Having suffered a martyr’s death—symbolized by the palm branch—Agnes finds herself welcomed into paradise by the Blessed Virgin. Mary gently takes her hand to guide her to the wedding banquet for which she longed and the Bridegroom to whom she was so devoted. The Holy Spirit, which had filled her heart with hope amidst her trials, looks on approvingly as she receives the crown of life and a robe of righteousness. The lamb, representing Agnes again, climbs the steps in joyful anticipation.

The window at the center of the narrative is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, but now is victorious and lives forevermore. He holds the banner of the Resurrection: the white flag bearing a red cross. The Lamb alone is able to open the seven seals. The cross motif that appears behind St. Agnes appears here golden—the symbol of suffering and death becomes in Christ a symbol of victory. The circle of roses around the perimeter of the window signify St. Agnes’ crown of roses.