Margaret of Castello


Margaret of Castello

Margaret of Castello by Andrea di Bartolo, c. 1394–98
Virgin
Born1287
Castello della Metola, Papal States
Died13 April 1320 (aged 32–33)
Città di Castello, Papal States
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Beatified19 October 1609, Saint Peter's Basilica, Papal States by Pope Paul V
Canonized24 April 2021, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City by Pope Francis
Major shrineChiesa di San Domenico, Città di Castello, Perugia, Italy
Feast13 April
Attributesa lily and a heart[1]
Patronage

Margaret of Città di Castello, TOSD (1287 – 12 April 1320) was an Italian Catholic educator and a Dominican tertiary.[2] Margaret had disabilities and became known for her deep faith and holiness.

Her parents abandoned her in a local church due to her disabilities and the town's poor took her in and assumed care for her. Nuns later offered her a home at their convent but soon came to detest her presence and cast her out, prompting the town's poor to once again take her in and care for her.[3][4] She later met with Dominican friars and was accepted as a Dominican tertiary. She started a school for children to teach them in the faith and often took care of children while their parents were out at work.[5][2][6]

Margaret's holiness was apparent to all in her life that people lobbied for her to be buried in the local church which was an honour reserved for a select few. Her beatification received approval from Pope Paul V on 19 October 1609.[2] Pope Francis later declared her a saint through equipollent canonization on 24 April 2021.[7]

  1. ^ Husenbeth, Frederik Charles. Emblems of Saints: By which They are Distinguished in Works of Art, Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1860, p. 109
  2. ^ a b c d "Blessed Margaret of Castello". CatholicSaints.Info. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Beata Margherita da Città di Castello Domenicana". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Bl. Margaret of Castello". Catholic Online. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  5. ^ "The history of Little Margaret of Castello". Blessed Margaret of Castello Guild and Shrine. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Blessed Margaret of Castello". Roman Catholic Saints. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  7. ^ EWTN. "Pope Francis declares blind laywoman a saint". CNA. Retrieved 2021-04-28.