Margaret of Cortona


Margaret of Cortona

Tender of Sick, Monastic
Bornc. 1247
Laviano, Italy
Died22 February 1297 (aged 49–50)
Cortona, Italy
Venerated inCatholic Church, Episcopal Church (United States)
Canonized16 May 1728 by Pope Benedict XIII
Feast22 February, 16 May
Patronagereformed prostitutes; people battling temptation, sexual especially; falsely accused people; homeless people; insanity; orphans; mental illness; mentally ill people; midwives; single mothers; people whose piety is ridiculed; single laywomen; the third child

Margaret of Cortona (1247 – 22 February 1297) was an Italian penitent of the Third Order of Saint Francis. She was born in Laviano, near Perugia, and died in Cortona. She was canonised in 1728.

She is the patroness saint of reformed prostitutes; the falsely accused, hoboes, homeless, insane, orphaned, mentally ill, midwives, penitents, single mothers, stepchildren, and tramps.