St. Agnes of Bohemia

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Agnes was the daughter of King Ottokar of Bohemia. She was engaged to Boleslaus when she was three and when he died, to Henry, son of Emperor Frederick II, when she was nine. She was overjoyed when Henry married the daughter of the Duke of Austria, as she had offered herself to God and hoped to live a life of austerity and virginity. Her brother affianced her to Frederick, and when in 1235 Frederick sent for her she petitioned Pope Gregory IX to intercede for her; when he did, Frederick released her from the engagement. In 1236 she built a convent for the Friars Minor in Prague, staffed by five nuns sent by St. Clare, and Agnes took the veil there. She was named abbess soon after and became renowned for her humility, aid to the poor, and her dedication to poverty. She died in Prague on March 2, 1282. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1989.