Events for Tuesday 21st January 2025

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When St. Fabian was elected Bishop of Rome in 236 A.D. he was a layman. In 250 A.D., at the beginning of the persecution, he suffered martyrdom at the hands of the emperor Decius as is described by St. Cyprian. He is buried in the cemetery of St. Clixtus.

St. Sebastian was originally from Milan. He travelled to Rome where the persecutions under the emperor Diocletian were taking place. St Sebastian may have been a soldier. He sustained many others in their trials. He was buried along the Appian Way.

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According to St. Augustine and Ambrose, St. Agnes was martyred at the age of 12. Wealthy and beautiful, she was martyred for her virginity in the last persecutions in Rome, 4th Century. Pope Damasus adorned her tomb with sacred poetry. St. Agnes is represented with a martyr's palm and a lamb. 
On her feast day, January 21st, the pope blesses the Pallium, a stole made from lambs wool which is the insignia of, and worn by, metropolitans (archbishops with a supervisory role in the Church). St. Agnes is mentioned in the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I). She is the Patron Saint of Children of Mary, Engaged Couples, Girls, and Young Girls.

Feast of St Agnes