St. Odon of Cluny, Abbot, and St. Agnes of Assisi

Benedict XVI dedicated the General Audience of 2 September 2009 to St. Odon, Abbot of Cluny. He presented him as “a luminous figure in the monastic Middle Ages who saw the surprising spread in Europe of the life and spirituality inspired by the Rule of St. Benedict”.

The then Pope recounted: “Odon was still a teenager, about sixteen years old, when, during a Christmas vigil, he felt how this prayer to Our Lady spontaneously came from his lips. «My Lady, Mother of mercy, who on this night gave birth to the Savior, pray for me. May your glorious and singular birth be, O most pious one, my refuge”.

St. Odon: “Mary, Mother of Mercy”.”

The appellative “Mother of Mercy”, with which the young Odon then invoked the Virgin, continued Pope Benedict, “will be the way he will always choose to address Mary». «Calling her also “the only hope of the world... thanks to whom the gates of paradise have been opened to us.”.

St. Odon became abbot of Cluny in 927. From this center of spiritual life he was able to exert a wide influence on the monasteries of the continent. His biographer, while emphasizing in Odon the “virtue of patience”, offers a long list of his other virtues. Among them, contempt for the world, zeal for souls, commitment to the peace of the Churches”. “St. Odon was a true spiritual guide for the monks as well as for the faithful of his time,” he said. Benedict XVI.

St. Agnes of Assisi, sister of St. Clare

Sister of St. Clare, foundress of the Poor Clares, Agnes was born in Assisi in 1197. A few days after Clare, in 1211 or 1212, left home, so did Agnes, to dedicate her life totally to God. Her family tried to get her back, but Agnes remained firm in her purpose. 

She spent most of her life in the monastery of San Damiano, on the outskirts of Assisi. But she was sent to Monticelli, Florence, with the task of instilling in this new community the spirit of Clare. There she remained as abbess for years. A letter from her to Clare is preserved from this time. 

In the last period of her life, Agnes accompanied Clare in Assisi during her last illness and death on August 11, 1253. She died shortly thereafter. Her mortal remains, together with those of Clare, were buried in the Basilica of St. Clare in Assisi. She was canonized in 1753 by Pope Benedict XIV.