SAINT AGNES

Today is the feast of Saint Agnes.

Patron of the Children of Mary

Saint Agnes was a Roman girl who was only thirteen years old when she suffered martyrdom for her Faith.

POPE BENEDICT - FEAST OF SAINT AGNES

Pope Benedict XVI, following a centuries-old tradition, blessed several lambs whose wool will be used to make the palliums bestowed on new metropolitan archbishops on the June 29 feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles. The ceremony was held on January 21, the feast of St Agnes – a martyr of the fourth century of Christianity.

The pallium is a narrow band of white lamb’s wool that is draped around the neck of the bearer, and is meant to call to mind his duty as a pastor or shepherd of Christians in remembrance of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The garment was originally worn only by the Pope. In Eastern Christianity, it is worn as the omophor by bishops of the Orthodox Church and bishops of Eastern rites of the Catholic Church.

The pallium consists of a loop in the centre resting on the shoulders over the chasuble and two dependent lappets, fore and aft, that make it resemble the letter Y. On it are six crosses, four on the loop and one at the end of each lappet. It is doubled on the left shoulder and sometimes is garnished, back and front, with three jewelled gold pins. The two latter characteristics seem to be survivals of the time when the Roman pallium was a simple scarf doubled and pinned on the left shoulder.

In a 1978 document, "Inter Eximina Episcopalis," Pope Paul VI restricted use of the pallium to the Pope and to metropolitan archbishops. In 1984 John Paul II decreed that the pallium would be conferred on the metropolitans on June 29.

The custom of blessing the lambs takes place every year on liturgical commemoration of St. Agnes, a virgin who suffered martyrdom about the year 305 and whose symbol is a lamb. She is buried in the basilica named after her on the Via Nomentana in Rome, and it is there that the lambs are taken after the papal blessing.

The lambs are raised by the Trappist monks – a Cistercian order of the rule of St. Benedict - of the Abbey of the Three Fountains ‘Tre Fontane’, while the palliums are made by the Sisters of St. Cecilia from the newly-shorn wool.

While in Christian iconography St. Agnes is represented by a lamb because of the similarity of her name to the Latin word for lamb (agnus), her name is derived from the Greek word 'agni', which means 'chaste', 'holy' or 'saint.' She is revered by Christians of Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic Church, and Orthodox Churches. Known as St. Agnes of Rome, she is also known as St. Juma and St. Ines or Inez.

Speroforum editor Martin Barillas is a former US diplomat, who also worked as a democracy advocate and election observer in Latin America. He is also a freelance translator.