Saint Margaret of Cortona
A woman who left a dependent life and founded a hospital in Cortona
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Religious, Mystic
- Life
- 1247 – 1297
- Era
- 13th century
- Feast
- 22 February
- Countries
- Italy
Life story
Margaret was born around 1247 at Laviano, near Perugia in central Italy. Her mother died when she was about seven, and the early biographies describe a strained relationship with her stepmother. At seventeen she left home to live with a knight from the Montepulciano area. They stayed together for roughly nine years and had a son, though they were never married.
What changed her life was the violent death of her partner; according to tradition he was murdered on the road around 1273. She went back to her father's house but was not welcomed, and made her way to Cortona, where the Franciscan friars helped her and her child. She began a life of prayer and penance, earning her keep by nursing women in childbirth. In 1277 she was admitted to the Franciscan Third Order. Her son later entered religious life as well.
At Cortona Margaret founded a hospital for the poor and the sick, and gathered a group of women to care for them, later known as the Tertiary Sisters of Saint Francis. She lived austerely, took part in reconciling quarrels within the city, and many people sought her advice. She died at Cortona on 22 February 1297, at about fifty years of age. Her body is kept in the basilica that bears her name on the hill above Cortona. Pope Benedict XIII canonised her in 1728. Devotion at her tomb began soon after her death, and the shrine above Cortona still receives pilgrims every year, many of whom come to remember her story of conversion.
Works and witness
- Left home at 17, lived nine years with a knight and bore him a son
- Admitted to the Franciscan Third Order in 1277
- Founded a hospital for the poor and sick at Cortona
- Gathered a group of women for charitable work, later the Tertiary Sisters
- Canonised in 1728
Patron of
Penitents, Orphans, Homeless people
Saints from the same country
References
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1907–1912), entry on Margaret of Cortona
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.