Saintly Saturday - St. Margaret of Cortona

Oscar Wilde once said, "Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future." Today's saint, St. Margaret of Cortona, exemplifies that quote through the actions of her life. 

In 1247, Margaret was born into a farming family in Laviano, Tuscany. She lost her mother when she was only seven years old. Her father remarried two years later, but Margaret faced much criticism from her stepmother, who had no regard for the young child. At the age of 17, she ran off to live with Arsenio, a young son of a nobleman from Montepulciano. She bore him a son, but despite her many requests of him, he never married her. 

After nine years, he was murdered & she was left alone to raise their son. This tragedy was the beginning of her road to repentance. She returned with the boy to her father's home, begging for forgiveness. At the insistence of her stepmother, however, her father refused to take her back into the home. 

While wondering around Lavino, trying to figure out what to do for herself & her son, she felt the urge to seek asylum in Cortona. There she met two sisters who took them to the Franciscans where much spiritual guidance was provided. She was known to inflict mortifications upon herself in repentance for her past sins - wearing a rope around her neck, abstaining from eating meat, sleeping on the ground...she even attempted to disfigure her face with a knife. This last mortification was discouraged by her confessor, Friar Guinta. 

She spent three years in purification & atonement for her past sins. At the end of that time, she was allowed to join the Third Order of St. Francis. It was also during this time that she began serving the poor, sharing the alms which she begged for. She kept only the scraps for herself & her son. Her prayer life quickly advanced & she was known to have frequent ecstacies, receiving messages directly from God for herself, as well as for others. 

Her work for the poor led to the opening of a hospital. She was also allowed to begin a group of tertiary sisters called Le Poverelle (The Poor Ones).

Despite her reparation for her past sins, some did not believe her to be fully converted. This include false accusations that she & Friar Guinta were involved in an illicit relationship. He was sent away to Siena, only to be allowed to return to Cortona when she was near her death.

St. Margaret of Cortona died February 22, 1297. Many, led by her example, returned to the sacraments of the Church. She was officially canonized a saint in 1728, even though many believed her a saint upon her death. Her incorruptible body is preserved in Cortona, over the altar of a church named for her.

Jesus said to her “I have made you a mirror for sinners. From you will the most hardened learn how willingly I am merciful to them, in order to save them. You are a ladder for sinners, that they may come to me through your example. My daughter, I have set you as a light in the darkness, as a new star that I give to the world, to bring light to the blind, to guide back again those who have lost the way, and to raise up those who are broken down under their sins. You are the way of the despairing, the voice of mercy.” (https://saintmargaretofcortona.org/st-margaret-of-cortona/)

May we all follow her example of faith & trust in God's mercy & forgiveness. 

St. Margaret of Cortona, Pray for Us!