Sant'Agnese in Agone
after living in Rome for over a year, i had walked past the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone in Piazza Navona dozens of times, yet for various reasons had never gone inside until October. i got the gentle nudge i needed in the form of a friend's daughter who was writing a report on St. Agnes for her religious education class. i must confess, i'm typing this up far after her report needed to be submitted, but just in case any of the rest of you undertake to write a paper on this early Roman martyr, here is what i discovered!
even if you've never been to Rome, you've probably seen the exterior of this church captured in the background of shots of Bernini's famous fountain in the center of Piazza Navona. the church as it stands now was built in the 17th century by the Pamphilj family, who had come to Rome in the 15th century and promptly skyrocketed to the highest echelons of Roman society. in fact, Giovanni Battisti Pamphilj was elected Pope in 1644, cementing the family's social status. as Pope Innocent X, he oversaw the rebuilding and construction of an 11th-century church, built on the site of an 8th-century oratory, built on the traditional site of St. Agnes' martyrdom in the year 304 AD. (how's that for peeling back the onion of history?)
what we now know as Piazza Navona was originally built as an oval stadium for the Emperor Domitian. various sporting events and games were held here, giving rise to the name Circus Agonalis (meaning "competition"). eventually the name Agonalis transformed into Navona, but the church retains the original name. thus "in Agone" does not refer to the physical anguish of St. Agnes' martyrdom, but rather to the physical location of her death (sort of like saying "St. Agnes of Yankee Stadium").
St. Agnes herself was a young girl about the age of 12 or 13, who was martyred for her faith. it is thought that her father was also a Christian because he allowed her to make a public profession of faith, which would have been highly unlikely in other circumstances. there are conflicting accounts of the exact method of her death, either by the sword or by burning, but in any event, it is supposed to have happened with in this stadium. her body was then buried in the catacombs at the Basilica of Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura, in northwest Rome. later, her skull was brought back to the church in Piazza Navona, where it is venerated by pilgrims every year. (more about venerating saints' relics here -- unfortunately, for some it can devolve into superstition, but for faithful Catholics it is nothing other than our natural instinct as humans to show respect for these holy men and women and to be close to objects that were close to them).
Cecilia came with me on this expedition, so we were both quite excited to spot the altar dedicated to St. Cecilia. she kept pointing to the sculpture and saying, "that's me! that's me!"
the church also holds the original baptismal font that was used to baptize St. Francesca Romana, another native Roman woman whose life turned out very differently from that of St. Agnes. St. Frances of Rome was a medieval wife, mother, healer and lay religious woman who died after a lifetime of serving the poor.
after exploring the church, we came back outside to discover the bubble man in full swing, filling the piazza with huge bubbles. poor Cecilia was a bit hampered by a wardrobe malfunction (as we were leaving her preschool she had a little accident and somehow she had no clean pants left at school, but i did have a Pull-Up and one of Greta's hoodies with me, so i put the hoodie on her upside-down like pants. all was fine when she was sitting in the stroller, but as soon as she started chasing bubbles, the hoodie started falling down and so i was constantly chasing her trying to tuck the hood back. you know, real life and all that jazz. sorry, St. Agnes!!)
even if you've never been to Rome, you've probably seen the exterior of this church captured in the background of shots of Bernini's famous fountain in the center of Piazza Navona. the church as it stands now was built in the 17th century by the Pamphilj family, who had come to Rome in the 15th century and promptly skyrocketed to the highest echelons of Roman society. in fact, Giovanni Battisti Pamphilj was elected Pope in 1644, cementing the family's social status. as Pope Innocent X, he oversaw the rebuilding and construction of an 11th-century church, built on the site of an 8th-century oratory, built on the traditional site of St. Agnes' martyrdom in the year 304 AD. (how's that for peeling back the onion of history?)
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| the Chapel of St. Agnes |
what we now know as Piazza Navona was originally built as an oval stadium for the Emperor Domitian. various sporting events and games were held here, giving rise to the name Circus Agonalis (meaning "competition"). eventually the name Agonalis transformed into Navona, but the church retains the original name. thus "in Agone" does not refer to the physical anguish of St. Agnes' martyrdom, but rather to the physical location of her death (sort of like saying "St. Agnes of Yankee Stadium").
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| the high altar, showing the Holy Family with John the Baptist |
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| the dome is meant to create a sensation of the heavens being opened. the inscription along the base of the dome reads: Ingressa Agnes turpitudinis locum, angelum Domini praeparatum invenit. ("On entering the place of uncleanness, Agnes found the angel of the Lord ready"). |
St. Agnes herself was a young girl about the age of 12 or 13, who was martyred for her faith. it is thought that her father was also a Christian because he allowed her to make a public profession of faith, which would have been highly unlikely in other circumstances. there are conflicting accounts of the exact method of her death, either by the sword or by burning, but in any event, it is supposed to have happened with in this stadium. her body was then buried in the catacombs at the Basilica of Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura, in northwest Rome. later, her skull was brought back to the church in Piazza Navona, where it is venerated by pilgrims every year. (more about venerating saints' relics here -- unfortunately, for some it can devolve into superstition, but for faithful Catholics it is nothing other than our natural instinct as humans to show respect for these holy men and women and to be close to objects that were close to them).
Cecilia came with me on this expedition, so we were both quite excited to spot the altar dedicated to St. Cecilia. she kept pointing to the sculpture and saying, "that's me! that's me!"
the church also holds the original baptismal font that was used to baptize St. Francesca Romana, another native Roman woman whose life turned out very differently from that of St. Agnes. St. Frances of Rome was a medieval wife, mother, healer and lay religious woman who died after a lifetime of serving the poor.
after exploring the church, we came back outside to discover the bubble man in full swing, filling the piazza with huge bubbles. poor Cecilia was a bit hampered by a wardrobe malfunction (as we were leaving her preschool she had a little accident and somehow she had no clean pants left at school, but i did have a Pull-Up and one of Greta's hoodies with me, so i put the hoodie on her upside-down like pants. all was fine when she was sitting in the stroller, but as soon as she started chasing bubbles, the hoodie started falling down and so i was constantly chasing her trying to tuck the hood back. you know, real life and all that jazz. sorry, St. Agnes!!)
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