In the tapestry of Catholicism, the saints shine like beacons among its colorful threads and provide for us timeless examples of compassion, dedication, and faith. Among the many saints of January we have chosen St. Agnes and St. John Bosco for their powerful guidance and unique stories to share with you all.
St. Agnes (or St. Agnes of Rome if you want to be fancy about it) was born in the year 291 AD in the Roman Empire. Growing up she had a wealthy upbringing and was raised in a christian family, during this time she also found herself becoming a virgin so her purity may never be stained. Highly honorable traits not so sought after by some men who just wanted her as a wife. But Agnes refused them time and time again until one day when the young men decided to turn her in to the authorities. For you see, at this point in history Christianity was not made legal in the Roman Empire yet so she was arrested by the father of Procop, a man who wanted her beyond all measure. When his father captured the young girl he tried to bribe her with wondrous gifts if she renounced her amazing faith in God (and married his son), but again she refused stating “I only love Jesus,” over and over again.
So the father of Procop promptly threw her in chains and sentenced her to a place of sin, but she endured with great faith in her heart. According to legend an angel was with her as she struggled and it was said that she was forced to walk down the streets of Rome without clothes, but it's said that the angel shielded her body from being tainted by the eyes of those around by making her hair spontaneously grow to the length of her body! Some accounts even say that whenever a man tried to rape the young virgin they were immediately struck blind, with one man even returning to beg her for forgiveness, which restored his sight. When she was about to be executed the governor tried burning her at the stake but God miraculously prevented such a horrible death for the girl, but ultimately she was martyred by being beheaded. The young girl died on January 21st and was buried beside the Via Nomentana in Rome, Agnes was only 12 or 13 at the time of her death.
Saint Agnes then became the patron saint of young girls, rape survivors, virgins, girl scouts, and gardeners.
Some of her symbols include a lamb and palm branch, with her colors being red and white.
Her feast day is celebrated on January 21st, with it being customary for two lambs to be brought and blessed by the pope on this day. Afterwards on Holy Thursday the lambs’ wool would be shorn and made into a new pallium that the pope would give to an archbishop as a gift; showing his union with the pope and as a sign of his power.
However according to folklore she could also be used in dream divination (see our monthy free spell blog post for further info!)
Now let’s look into the story of St. John Bosco! So John Bosco, also known as Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco (or Don if you knew him well) was born in Becchi, Italy on August 16th, in 1815. Growing up John was poor and didn’t have much unlike Agnes, but he did develop a strong connection to christianity at an early age. When he was two his father died which resulted in his mother primarily taking care of him, later on she would also be declared venerable by the church in 2006 as “Mama Margherita Occhiena.” Whenever the young John wasn’t in church he would also help his family by growing their food and raising their sheep, with his mother even encouraging him to donate to the homeless and sharing with people who were less fortunate than them.
It’s also said that when he was 9 years old that he had a dream that some of his peers were cursing as they played. I imagine this would be similar to how modern kids play online today, however among this group of kids stood two majestic people. These people told John to “conquer these your friends,” and “be humble, strong, and robust. When the time comes, you’ll understand everything.” This dream, among several others, was said to influence John for the rest of his life. Another big influence for John was stage tricks since he used them to gather the attention of others and would encourage them to pray afterwards, it was also around this time the young boy wished to be a priest. This revelation, however, wasn’t really accessible for someone like him because you needed an education and money to be able to be ordained into ministry. But miraculously after some time and a few odd jobs he was able to find a priest who was able to help him. This guy was known as Joseph Cafaso and he too would be recognized as a saint, particularly ministering to prisoners and the condemned.
In 1835, John entered the seminary, and after six years of dedication and faith, he would be ordained as a priest in 1861. Throughout his life John would help young boys get a better upbringing by providing for them shelter, food, and education, since he also believed that they too would make good priests one day. John would also be seen on the streets using his talents as a performer by doing tricks and entertaining the children, then sharing his message of Jesus, yay!
I also found it interesting to note that John Bosco’s recruitment tactics were apparently so good, that some parish priests even accused him of stealing young boys from their parishes; with the Chief of Police of Turin even getting involved since he believed that John Bosco was using the boys as a way to overthrow the government. I’m not joking and this is all on the official catholic online website!
Anyway when John Bosco died on January 31st in 1888, people immediately called for canonization. The pope at the time, Pope Pius XI, was actually friends with him and so he declared him blessed in 1929, and later canonized him in 1934 as a saint.
St. John Bosco then became the patron saint of apprentices, editors (heyo!), publishers, students, juvenile delinquents, and magicians.
White seems to be his primary color but I also suggest yellow if you want him to help you pass a test or help study.
Saint John Bosco’s feast day is January 31st and also if you’re wondering why his name sounded so familiar throughout this article it might be because here in Hammond there is a christian academy named after him! Thus proving his wonderful message of providing young children with the proper education with some good mirth with it! That wraps up this article about the saints of January. I hope you dear readers enjoyed it and maybe they too can aid you in your day to day lives!
Sources: https://www.catholic.org