St. Margaret of Castello

Every so often I miss a piece of news important to me. Who knows why? Perhaps for a day or two I simply failed to check my usual news sources, something that happens often enough. Of course, major news stories tend to have legs, and receive coverage that may last weeks or longer. They’re hard to miss. But some stories, especially those religious stories that the mainstream media would rather not cover, can be buried on back pages of newspapers or websites, or simply ignored. For these stories I rely on Catholic or other religious news outlets where even seemingly minor religious events still receive coverage. But six months ago, in April, I completely missed hearing about an event that would have thrilled me had I known of it.

On April 24 Pope Francis canonized Margaret of Castello (1287-1320), and I simply missed the news. I finally heard of her canonization last week during a parish Bible Study session. I can’t recall why I happened to mention Margaret during one of our discussions, but I made the comment that many of us who revered this holy woman hoped the Church would come to canonize her soon. After all it had been only 700 years. That’s when one of our Bible Study’s participants told me, “She was canonized earlier this year.” 

I could hardly believe it. I’d been hoping and praying for her canonization for years…decades. St. Margaret’s canonization was a bit unusual, in that Pope Francis used a procedure called equipollent canonization. It does not require a miracle, but there must be a long history of devotion to the candidate, who must also have a reputation for miracles as well as a life of holiness. Margaret certainly qualified, and all of us who have been praying for her canonization thank the Holy Father for announcing her sainthood. Her feast day is April 13.

I was first introduced to this wonderful saint many years ago, probably around 1980. I had stopped by a Catholic book store in Hyannis on Cape Cod. Chatting with the sales clerk I happened to mention we were forming a pro-life group in our parish. He asked if we had already selected a patron saint. Of course, we hadn’t. He then recommended we consider Blessed Margaret of Castello. I had never even heard of her, so he lent me a relic of the saint to take to our meeting. Coincidentally (Not!) the very next day a parishioner handed me a book she thought I’d like. It was a copy of Father William Bonniwell’s book, The Life of Blessed Margaret Castello. I knew now the Holy Spirit was telling me something. After reading the book I also knew that Blessed Margaret had to be our patron. At our next meeting I told our members all about Margaret. She was chosen unanimously, the perfect saint to intercede for the unwanted. Today I have a statue of Margaret that I keep on a small shelf right above my desk. I think of her often and ask for her intercession daily.

I won’t go into detail on her brief life (she died at 33), because you can either buy the book mentioned above or read an abbreviated version of her life online here. Once you learn about her, you’ll agree she is the perfect saint for our times. Margaret was the daughter of a wealthy, well-connected couple who were horrified and embarrassed by the birth of their less-than-perfect child. How “imperfect” was she? She was blind, lame, suffered from severe curvature of the spine and dwarfism, and by the world’s standards was ugly. Today her enlightened parents would no doubt abort her, causing us to wonder how many modern saints have been lost to the world because of parents whose only measure of their child’s worth is physical perfection. Who could better represent the unloved of our modern society, those outcasts we dispose of through abortion and euthanasia?

Here’s a link to a video of the reading of the Decree of Equipollent Canonization and unveiling of the banner of St. Margaret at a Mass in Citta Di Castello on September 19: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIKdoKGTtEc

St. Margaret, pray for us.