Feast Day: St. Agnes of Rome

St. Agnes of Rome (3rd century)

Agnes was twelve when she was dragged to a Roman Temple, tortured, and threatened with rape. When she refused to deny Christ, she was burned and beheaded. Her name is mentioned in the Eucharistic Prayers of Mass.  Agnes is traditionally linked with the image of a lamb (from the Latin: agnus meaning lamb) therefore here's what happened at the Vatican today:

BLESSING OF THE LAMBS FOR THE FEAST OF ST. AGNES

VATICAN CITY, 21 JAN 2010 (VIS) - This morning, in keeping with the tradition for today's feast of St. Agnes, the Pope blessed a number of lambs in the Urban VIII Chapel of the Vatican Apostolic Palace. The wool of the lambs is used to make the palliums bestowed on new metropolitan archbishops on June 29, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles.  The lambs are raised by the Trappist Fathers of the Abbey of the Three Fountains in Rome and the palliums are made from the newly-shorn wool by the sisters of St. Cecilia.

Cool, huh?

St. Agnes, pray for us!