Saint of the Day – 2 March – Saint Agnes of Bohemia

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Today is Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Memorial of Saint Agnes of Bohemia

Saint Agnes of Bohemia is the Patron Saint of Czech Republic

Saint Agnes of Bohemia Date of Birth, Country of Birth, Profession, Place of Work, Date of Death, Place of Death, Feast Day, Beatification Date, Canonization DateMatrimony/Holy OrdersNuns/Sisters who became Saints

Saint Agnes of Bohemia brief life History

Date of Birth 20 June 1211
Country of Birth Czechia in Europe
Profession Princess, philanthropist and abbess
Place of Work Prague, Bohemia
Date of Death 2 March 1282
Place of Death Saint Saviour convent, Prague, Bohemia of natural causes
Feast Day 2 March
Beatification By Pope Pius IX in 1874
Canonization By Pope John Paul II on 12 November 1989 in Vatican City
Patron Saint of Czech Republic

Saint Agnes of Bohemia Short life History

Saint Agnes of Bohemia is also known as
• Saint Agnes of Prague
• Anezka Ceské
• Anezka Premyslovna

She was born a princess, the youngest daughter of King Ottokar I and Queen Constance of Bohemia. She was a relative of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.

She was educated by Cistercian nuns at Trebnitz, Germany. Though she early perceived a call to religious life, Agnes was for years promised into a series of arranged marriages for political reasons. At age three she was promised to a prince named Boleslaus. When he died prior to the marriage, she was betrothed to Prince Henry, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. When Henry chose to marry another, young Agnes was betrothed to Emperor Frederick himself. With the help and intervention of Pope Gregory IX, though affronted, Frederick released Agnes from her marriage obligations, acknowledging that he had lost her to the king of heaven.

She built a Franciscan hospital on land donated by her brother, King Wenceslaus I. She then established the Confraternity of the Crusaders of the Red Star to staff it and its related clinics. She later built a Franciscan friary, and in 1234, Poor Clare convent of Saint Saviour in Prague (in modern Czech Republic) with the aid of five nuns sent by Saint Clare of Assisi herself. Agnes entered the convent of Saint Saviour herself on Pentecost Sunday 1234, eventually became its abbess, and spent 50 years in the cloister.

Agnes was always free with her wealth in service of the poor. She enjoyed cooking for the other sisters, and mending the clothes of lepers. She had the gifts of healing and prophecy, and was given to ecstasies. Though they never met, she and Saint Clare of Assisi kept up an extensive correspondence for two decades, and some of the letters have survived to today.

Today’s Catholic Quote:

After refusing to get married to Emperor Frederick, the Emperor is said to have remarked: “If she had left me for a mortal man, I would have taken vengeance with the sword, but I cannot take offence because in preference to me she has chosen the King of Heaven.”

Saint Agnes of Bohemia
Saint Agnes of Bohemia


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About Laban Thua Gachie 10721 Articles
The founder of Catholicreadings.org is Laban Thua Gachie. I am a Commissioned Lector, a commissioned Liturgy Minister, and a Commissioned member of the Catholic Men Association. We at Catholic Daily Readings, operate the catholicreadings.org, a Catholic Church-related website and we pride ourself in providing you, on a daily basis the following; 1. Catholic Daily Mass Readings 2. Reflections on those Daily Readings 3. Daily prayers 4. Bible Verse of the Day 5. Saint of the Day