According to the legend of St. Agnes, Emerentiana was her foster-sister. St. Agnes was a rich Roman heiress who was martyred after refusing her engagement due to her Christian religion. Emerentiana’s mother was the wet nurse and nanny of Saint Agnes.
A few days after Agnes’ death, Emerentiana, who was a catechumen still learning about Christianity before being officially baptized, went to the tomb to pray and was suddenly attacked by the pagans, stoned to death by the crowd.
Her feast day is January 23, She is represented as a young girl who either has stones in her lap and lilies in her hand, or as being stoned to death by a mob. Her tomb is in the church of Sant’Agnese fuori le mura in Rome. An altar dedicated to her with a marble relief by Ercole Ferrata depicting her martyrdom is in Sant’Agnese in Agone.