It was not easy being a Christian during the 4th century, as persecutions intensified every few years, leading to a whole litany of new martyrs.
St. Agnes of Rome was one of those early martyrs. She had professed a vow of chastity at an early age, but her life was cut short when various Romans tried to convince her to go against her personal vow.
When she refused to give in to their demands, the local Roman leaders ordered her to be executed.
Sister-martyrs
What few may know is that St. Agnes had a foster-sister named Emerentiana. The Catholic Encyclopedia summarizes what we know about her:
[A]ccording to the legend of St. Agnes, Emerentiana was her foster-sister. Some days after the burial of St. Agnes, Emerentiana, who was still a catechumen, went to the grave to pray, and while praying she was suddenly attacked by the pagans and killed with stones. Her feast is kept on January 23.
A church was built near the grave of St. Agnes and was dedicated to St. Emerentiana. She is similarily regarded as a "virgin-martyr."
We don't know much else about St. Emerentiana, besides the fact that she is traditionally depicted in artwork "with stones in her lap, [and] with a palm or lily." It is likely that she was close in age to St. Agnes.
St. Emerentiana and St. Agnes are part of a company of "sister saints," who are all venerated by the Catholic Church.
It is a beautiful thing to see how siblings can positively affect one another and how when one sibling heroically sacrifices their life for Christ, the other is willing to do so as well.
