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Saint Margaret of Hungary OP
Saint Margaret of Hungary OP

Saint Margaret of Hungary OP

Feast Day
Jan 18, 2013
Patronage
Fasting and Prayer
<p>St. Margaret was born in Hungary, and was the eighth daughter of ten children to the Ruler of Croatia.&nbsp; Her parents were a Royal couple that ruled the land.&nbsp; Her parents vowed that if Hungary were liberated from the Mongols, they would dedicate a child to Religion.&nbsp; Her parents entrusted the four-year-old Margaret to the Dominican Monastery at Veszprem in 1245.&nbsp; Six years later she was transferred to the Monastery of the Blessed Virgin founded by her parents on Rabbit Island, near Buda &ndash; today called Margaret Island.&nbsp; The ruins of this monastery can still be seen today.&nbsp; The rest of life was spent there dedicating her life to her religion.&nbsp; She opposed all attempts of her father to arrange a political marriage for her with King Ottokar II of Bohemia.&nbsp;</p> <p>Much of the details of her life are known from the &ldquo;Legend of St. Margaret&rdquo;, written in the 14<sup>th</sup> century. According to this, Margaret chastised herself from early childhood, wore and iron girdle, hair shirts, and shoes spiked with nails to create pain and suffering to offer up.&nbsp; She later also performed the dirtiest tasks in the Monastery.&nbsp; She died on January 18<sup>th</sup>, 1271 at the age of twenty-eight.&nbsp; Her death is believed to have been caused by fatigue brought on by her extreme fasting and endless hours in prayer.&nbsp;&nbsp; Seventy-four miracles were ascribe to her intercession, most of them referring to curing illness, even someone coming back from the dead. &nbsp;Pope Pius XII did not canonize her until 1943.&nbsp; Her aunt was St. Elizabeth of Hungary.&nbsp; Even though it took centuries for her to be canonized, she was venerated as a saint shortly after her death.&nbsp;</p> <p>Her feast day is celebrated on January 18<sup>th</sup>.&nbsp; Her monastery was among those suppressed in 1782 by the Orders of Emperor Joseph II.&nbsp; At that time, her remains were given to the Poor Clares.&nbsp; They were kept in Buda.&nbsp; In art she is usually depicted in a Dominican habit holding a white lily and a book.&nbsp;</p> <h1><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Practical Take Away</span></strong></h1> <p>St. Margaret of Hungary was a Dominican Nun, whose parents were the King and Queen of Hungary.&nbsp; They vowed to give their child to religion if their land was purified of oppressors occupying it.&nbsp; She was given to the Dominican Monastery at the age of four.&nbsp; She spent most of her life in extreme fasting and prayer, and so much so, that it is believed to have attributed to her death at the age of 28.&nbsp; Although she is not official patron saint of anything, she has been venerated for centuries, since her death, for aid in fasting and praying.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>