Agnus Dei

Statema, B. C. P.

Sacramental

Agnus Dei

Known today as: A wax medallion stamped with the Lamb of God, blessed by the pope (note LXX).
Kind: Sacramental, in 1 older authority
Earliest authority here: The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914)
In the Canale glossary: On the Manner of Discerning and Healing the Bewitched, Appendix A: Treatise Two: Blessed Objects and Materials

Revised October 1, 2026: An authority added from a text read in full. Version 1, first published September 25, 2026.

Agnus Dei: what did Canale use it for?

Worn by the sick; placed in pouches in the corners of rooms against hexes; “much, too, has been gathered on their wondrous effects” (Treatise Two).

Agnus Dei: what does modern science say?

The great papal consecration took place in the first year of each pontificate and every seventh year afterwards.

What Medicine Makes of It

Amulets, Blessed Objects, and the Meaning ResponseWhy what cannot work sometimes works.

Agnus Dei: what lore surrounds it?

Believers credited the blessed wax medallion with protection against storms, fire, floods, shipwreck, poison, epilepsy, and difficult childbirth. Pope Pius V is said to have thrown one into the flooding Tiber, after which the waters receded. Elizabeth I later banned their import into England as “popish trumperies.”

Agnus Dei: what did the older authorities say?

The Catholic Encyclopedia: The Catholic Encyclopedia thinks it “probable that they had their beginning in some pagan usage of charms or amulets, from which the ruder populace were weaned by the enjoyment of this Christian substitute blessed by prayer.” The first Agnus Deis (c. 820) “were made of the remnants of the preceding year's paschal candle,” and Ennodius (c. 510) shows “that fragments of the paschal candles were used as a protection against tempests and blight.” As the blood of the paschal lamb protected each household, “so the purpose of these consecrated medallions is to protect those who wear or possess them from all malign influences,” the blessing naming “the perils from storm and pestilence, from fire and flood, and also of the dangers to which women are exposed in childbirth.” Under Elizabeth they were listed among the “popish trumperies” forbidden entry into England, and a grey kind, mixed “with the dust which is believed to be that of the bones of martyrs,” is called the Paste de' SS. Martiri.

Sources

[21] Herbermann, C. G., et al. (eds.) (1907–1912). The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Online at newadvent.org. Articles: Agnus Dei (H. Thurston); Amulet (M. Hassett); Ash Wednesday (H. Thurston); Bells (H. Thurston); Holy Oils (H. Leclercq); Paschal Candle (H. Thurston); Scapular (J. Hilgers). Read in part · the text read

Papal Artifacts, “Agnus Dei.” Book, not indexed
National Catholic Register, on the Agnus Dei. Book, seen in reviews
The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914), “Agnus Dei.” newadvent.org/cathen/01220a.htm Standard reference work

Verification

Checked

October 1, 2026

Passes

Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
Each quotation from the older authorities checked word for word against the text, read in full

Sources

4 cited: 1 read in part, 1 standard reference work, 1 book, seen in reviews, 1 book, not indexed.

Corrections

None were needed.

What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.

Cite This Entry

Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026 · last revised October 1, 2026

Chicago: “Agnus Dei.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 1, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/agnus-dei.
MLA: “Agnus Dei.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 1 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/agnus-dei. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
APA: Agnus Dei. (2026, October 1). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/agnus-dei

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