Agnes of Rome (291-304 AD) was a Christian virgin martyr of the 4th century. Her prayers prevented her from being publicly exposed and raped, even blinding those who attempted to rape her, and, when the Romans attempted to burn her at the stake, the wood would not burn; she was ultimately beheaded by the Roman soldiers.
Biography[]
Agnes was born into a Roman Christian noble family, and she was a beautiful young girl; she had many suitors of high rank, but the young men, slighted by her devotion to religious purity, submitted her name to the authorities as a Christian during Diocletian's "Great Persecution". She was condemned to be dragged naked through the streets to a brothel, and she was said to have prayed as her hair grew and covered her body. The men who attempted to rape her were immediately struck blind, and the son of the prefect was struck dead but revived after she prayed for him, causing her release. After another trial, she was once again sentenced to death, and she was bound to a stake, although the bundle of wood would not burn, so the Roman soldiers were forced to decapitate her with a sword. Her blood poured to the stadium floor where other Christians soaked it up with cloths.