Saint Margaret of Castello

Margaret of Città di Castello, TOSD (1287 – 12 April 1320) was an Italian Catholic educator and a Dominican tertiary. Margaret was both blind and had other physical disabilities and became known for her deep faith and holiness. Her parents abandoned her in a local church due to her disabilities, and the town's poor took her in and assumed care for her. Nuns later offered her a home at their convent but soon came to detest her presence and cast her out, prompting the town's poor to once again take her in and care for her. She later met with Dominican friars and was accepted as a Dominican tertiary. She started a school for children to teach them in the faith and often took care of children while their parents were out at work. Margaret's holiness was apparent to all in her life, so people lobbied for her to be buried in the local church, which was an honour reserved for a select few. Her beatification received approval from Pope Paul V on 19 October 1609. Pope Francis later declared her a saint through equipollent canonization on 24 April 2021. Margaret of Castello was born in Perugia in 1287 to the nobles Parisio and Emilia in the Metola Castle near Mercatello sul Metauro. Her father served at the garrison at the castle. Margaret was born blind with a severe curvature of the spine and had difficulties walking; she was also growth-restricted. Though her parents were embarrassed and hid her from all, a kind maid found her and gave her the name Margaret (derived from the Greek word "margaron", meaning "pearl"). When she was almost publicly discovered at age six, her parents walled her for about a decade in a room attached to their residence's chapel, to ensure no one would see her, although she could attend Mass and receive the sacraments. Her parents’ chaplain instructed her in the faith.