Pope Francis to receive statue of St Agnes of Bohemia

Pope Francis is to receive a statue of St Agnes of Bohemia as a gift from the Czech state on the occasion of the Holy Year of Mercy. St Agnes is the Czech nation’s patron saint, and she is also a patron of the elderly, ailing and weak and a symbol of God’s mercy. The gift will be delivered to the Vatican on September 10th by a delegation including Czech Culture Minister Daniel Herman and leading church dignitaries.

St Agnes of Bohemia was a princess, the daughter of the Bohemian Kings Přemysl I Otakar, but she chose to become a nun and devoted her life to charity. She was canonized by the Catholic Church in November 1989, just days before the beginning of the Velvet Revolution that ended communist rule in the country.