St. Agnes of Bohemia

Saint Agnes of Bohemia was a medieval Bohemian princess who gave up her social position in order to become a nun.

She was born in 1211 to King Ottokar I of Bohemia which made her a direct descendant of both Saint Ludmila and Saint Wenceslaus.  She was also first cousin of Saint Elisabeth.  It seems like a lot of saints for one family.

For political reasons, an arranged marriage was set up for her.  Since she wanted to devote her life to God she wrote to Pope Gregory IX for help and she was allowed to become a nun.  As a nun she personally cooked for and took care of lepers.  She lived out her life caring for others until she died in 1282. 

In 1989, almost 700 years after she died, Pope John Paul II canonized her as a Catholic saint.

St. Agnes was shown on the Czech 50 Kč banknote.  However, the banknote was replaced by the 50 Kč coin in 2011.