Saint of the Month - February 2017: Saint Margaret of Cortona

St. Margaret of Cortona

Another Mary Magdalen

Feast: February 22nd

It is recorded that our Lord once said to this great Saint, "I have set thee as an example to sinners, that in thee they may behold how my mercy awaits the sinner who is willing to repent; for as I have been merciful to thee, so will I be merciful to them."  Her life has since inspired many with the hope that one can turn away from a dead-end life of sin and find welcome and renewal in the merciful embrace of God.

The lovely face of St. Margaret,
modeled after her incorrupt body.

Born in the Italian town of Laviano in 1247, Margaret was said to have been a rare beauty. Her parents were lowly farmers and her mother, in particular, was pious, but was taken from this world when Margaret was only 7-years-old.  The father remarried two years later to a woman, who sadly, held no affection for her new step-daughter, leaving the girl starved for love and attention. As she matured, Margaret developed a rebellious streak and longed for an escape from the misery of her home life. The chance to flee came when she was 17-year-old.

One fateful day while working in the fields, a wealthy young nobleman came riding through Laviano with his entourage (Margaret never named him in her autobiography). Spotting the free-spirited Margaret among a group of laborers, he was immediately enamored by her appearance and arranged for her to be a servant in his villa near Montepulciano.  It didn't take long for the naive maiden to be swept off her feet by her dashing admirer and the notion of a better life that an illicit relationship with him entailed. She became his live-in mistress and bore him a son, and reveled like a peacock around the villa and the countryside, dressed in extravagant finery and jewels that were showered on her. 

Her shameless flaunting of her scandalous relationship made Margaret the talk of the town, but of course, not in a good way. Once when she was publicly confronted by a certain woman about her lifestyle, Margaret haughtily joked to her critic that she needn't worry - that she would die a saint and crowds would come as pilgrims to her shrine. Little did she know that her words would eventually prove to be true.

On his part, the nobleman accorded her with affection and gifts in the early years of their union. He repeatedly promised her marriage although he knew it was socially/politically impossible given Margaret's humble lineage... and eventually, it appeared that his passion for her began to cool, as his attention became taken up with business, sport, social obligations, and other distractions that took him away on extended trips. Poor Margaret was often lonely and once again found herself starved for love and attention. She also started questioning her mode of life, and was increasingly haunted by guilt resulting from the residual piety she inherited from her birth mother.

Margaret finding her murdered lover.

Then, one day, after nine years of living faithlessly, Margaret's lover announced that he was leaving on a hunting trip for several days. On the day he was expected back he never returned, instead, the man's favorite hound came bounding into the villa, barking and behaving in a strange manner. Margaret, curious yet troubled, followed the beckoning dog into the surrounding woods where she discovered her master's bloody and decomposing body buried in a shallow grave. He was obviously the victim of a brutal assassination.  

Shocked and horrified, Margaret took her lover's death as a sign of God's judgement and immediately resolved to reform herself, lest the same fate befell her. She renounced her former luxuries and, with her young son, returned to Laviano where she made a public confession of her sins at the parish church and begged forgiveness from her father. However, through the influence of her stepmother, the weak man rejected mother and child and sent them back into the streets. Homeless and with no money, Margaret was tempted to return to her former life, but in desperation she called out to God and heard a mysterious voice directing her to the Franciscans in Cortona... so with her son in tow, she again set out on foot to the neighboring city.

A typical representation of the Saint.

Once she arrived in Cortona, Margaret began looking for shelter for her and her little boy. Providentially, two pious women, moved with pity by their situation, welcomed them into their home. They introduced the penitent to the local Franciscan Priests who agreed to direct her and, wisely so, because Margaret in her deep remorse for her past sins, was prone to performing penances to the extreme - she fasted continually from meat, slept on the bare floor, wore rough clothing, and took to the scourge. Her confessors kept a tight reign on her spiritual progress and often had to intervene to curb her enthusiasm for self-mortification; they once expressly refused a request their penitent made to scar her own face so as to deter the men in Cortona who were physically attracted to her.

For the next 23 years Margaret lived in Cortona as a model of repentance and sanctity. Initially, the inhabitants treated her with suspicion but she eventually won them over with her sincerity and charitable works. After passing a 3-year period of testing, she was accepted into the Franciscan Third Order and opened a hospital for the sick-poor, where she ministered with a staff of other Franciscan Tertiaries. In addition, Margaret founded the city's Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy whose members were bound to spiritually and financially support the needs of the hospital to ensure it continuity.  As for her son, he grew to adulthood and eventually joined the Franciscan Order, himself.

As Margaret's virtues increased so did her relationship with Christ. He began appearing to her sometime after her conversion, and initially referred to the penitent as, "Poverella (Poor Little Girl)".  Later on, Jesus changed the term to "Daughter" and, in due time, He affectionately called her "Spouse"; an indication of the high degree of spiritual union Margaret had managed to achieve with Him. Furthermore, her biography is rich with the many mystical charisms God favored her with - visits from the Holy Virgin and angels; ecstasies and private revelations; levitation; prophecy; the reading of hearts; stigmata (she often wept bloody tears when meditating on the Passion of Christ); and the gift of healing and miracles (she once resurrected a dead boy through her fervent prayer). Thus, this woman who had effectively given up all desire for earthly gifts, instead received much, much more sublime gifts from the hands of her Divine Lover.

The incorrupt body of St. Margaret,

as venerated in Cortona, Italy.

Margaret died on February 22, 1297, at the age of 50 and was deeply mourned by all of Cortona and the surrounding areas where her fame of holiness had spread during her lifetime. At the time of her death she had retired to live in the run-down church of St. Basil, which she had campaigned to be repaired by her townsmen for the greater glory of God. She was buried in the same church where her body was later discovered free of corruption and emitting a wonderful fragrance. St. Margaret's Canonization took place in May 1728, after which St. Basil's Church was enlarged and renamed in honor of the new Patron Saint of Cortona. Her precious relic remains enshrined within it, behind the main altar, enclosed in a glass-sided silver casket.

A Reflection

"Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much." - Words of Our Lord, Luke 7:47

A Short Prayer

Lord, like St. Margaret of Cortona, grant us the grace of sincere repentance for our sins and confidence in your willingness to grant us Divine Mercy and pardon; may this Saint be our continued inspiration in our journey of spiritual healing and conversion.  Amen.