Together with St. Cecilia, St. Agnes is one of the most famous Roman martyrs. At the height of persecution when many of the faithful, and even the clergy, were giving up the faith, she remained faithful to Christ and made the sacrifice of her youthful life. St. Ambrose and St. Damasus praised the example that she gave. At the beginning of the fourth century, when peace was restored to the Church, the princess Constantina, the eldest daughter of Constantine, built a basilica over her tomb on the via Nomentana which remains today one of the most famous in Rome. St. Agnes is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass.