St. Margaret of Castello

St. Margaret of Castello began life with many challenges. She was born blind, experienced dwarfism, and had difficulties walking from an early age. Out of shame, her parents hid her in a small cell in the castle the lived in. They tried to bring her to a monastery in hopes of receiving a miraculous cure for their daughter, but when she was not cured, they abandoned her there. Young Margaret soon got a reputation in the area for her fervor of her faith, and eventually opened a school for the poor children who lived around her. She later joined a Dominican monastery where she lived until her death in her 30s. 

Margaret's body was eventually exhumed and her body was found to be incorrupt, despite the decay of her coffin and clothes, and she became beatified in 1609, though she wasn't fully canonized as a saint until 2021.


Lifetime: 1287 to 1320
Region: Modern Italy
Patronages: People with disabilities; The blind
Iconograpy: Dominican habit; Walking stick
Feast Day: April 13

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