St. Margaret of Castello

 Happy Feast of All the Saints!!  On this day, the Catholic Church commemorates all those who have gone before us and have persevered in the Faith. We recognize that untold numbers of the faithful have reached that eternal home land - "I had a vision of a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue." Rev 7:9a   Of that great multitude, the Church has canonized more than 10,000 (contrary to popular parlance, the Church does not "make saints", she identifies Saints that God has already made and give us the opportunity to learn from them). 

It is time once again for "Saintly November." Since I have limited time and space, I will stick to those Saints that the Church has identified through the process of Beatification and Canonization - and even at that, I could continue this for a couple of lifetimes and not get to them all - so let's get started.

I am starting our journey this year with the recently canonized St. Margaret of Castello. Margaret was born near Florence, Italy, in 1247 to a well to do family. Her parents were dismayed to discover that she was born with several physical ailments. She was a dwarf, lame and blind and had a severe curvature of the spine that left her permanently hunched over. Her family was ashamed of her and kept her hidden away for many years - from the age of 6, she was walled up in a room beside a chapel. There, the family chaplain was able to instruct her in the faith and administer the sacraments. 

When Margaret was about 16, her parents took her to a Franciscan Shrine in Castello hoping for a miracle cure for their daughter. When the hoped for miracle did not occur, Margaret's parents abandoned her. The people of the community took pity on the young girl, giving her the help that she needed to survive. Margaret accepted her afflictions with the eyes of faith. She never became discouraged or bitter over her circumstances. She repaid the townsfolk by looking after their children while they worked and instructing the children in the faith and the Psalms. 

Margaret came to know the Dominican Friars who were in the town and was under their spiritual guidance. She was admitted to the local order of the Third Order of St. Dominic. St. Margaret died on April 12, 1320. She was beatified in 1675 and has held a special place in the hearts of Dominicans around the world (and in particular the Dominicans at St. Patrick Church here in Columbus, OH). Pope Francis declared her a Saint by equipollent canonization on April 24, 2021. 

St Margaret is the patron saint of the Pro-Life Movement, the disabled and the blind. Her feast day is April 13.