Life of St. Agnes of Montepulciano and St. Dominic
Life of St. Agnes of Montepulciano
St. Agnes was born in the neighborhood of Montepulciano in Tuscany about 1268. At the age of nine entered the monastery of Montepulciano, near her home, Gracchiano-Vecchio. Four years later she was commissioned by Pope Nicholas IV to assist in the foundation of a monastery at Proceno, and became its prioress at the age of fifteen. At the entreaty of the citizens of her native town, she established (1298) the celebrated convent of Dominican nuns at Montepulciano which she governed until the time of her death in 1317. Agnes was noted for her visions. She held the infant Christ in her arms and received Holy Communion from an angel. She experienced levitations and she performed miracles for the faithful of the region. She is still revered in Tuscany. She was canonized by Benedict XIII in 1726.
Life of St. Dominic
Feastday: August 8
He was born Domingo de Guzman in Caleruega, Castile. About 1196 he became canon of the Cathedral of Osma in Castile. While returning from a religious mission to Rome in 1203, he was overwhelmed by the clerical abuses and the prevalence of heresies in southern France. Dominic and a few companions were given a house and church at Prouille, near Toulouse. In 1206 a convent for women was formed, and in 1216 the Order of Friars Preachers was granted ecclesiastical approval.
Dominic's preachers traveled throughout Europe, instructing not only the common people, but civic and religious leaders as well. Dominic insisted on the importance of education. His friars studied theology at the University of Paris and canon law at the University of Bologna. He was canonized in 1234.