Saint Agnes of Assisi

Born Caterina Offreduccio around 1197, Agnes ran away to join her sister Clare just sixteen days after Clare left home to follow Saint Francis. According to tradition, when her uncle and armed relatives tried to drag her back, her body became so heavy they could not move her. Francis gave her the name Agnes, and in 1221 she was sent to lead a new community of Poor Clares at Monticelli near Florence. She returned to Assisi to be with Clare at her death in 1253 and died a few months later.

Her remains rest in the Basilica of Saint Clare in Assisi, near her sister. Her letter to Clare, written from Florence, is one of the earliest Poor Clare writings to survive.