Saint Margaret Of CortonaMargaret Of Cortona

Saint Margaret of Cortona Margaret of Cortona was born in Loviana in 1247. When she was 7 years old, her mother passed away. Her father remarried. Her stepmother had little care & love for her. Growing up, she became more willful and reckless, & she had a reputation one wouldn’t envy. At the age of 17, she met a young man from Montepulciano, and she eloped with him. They had a child out of wedlock. Nine years after, her lover was murdered & his body was found in the forest. This crime shocked Margaret into a life of prayer and penance. She returned to her parents’ house as a penitent. When her parents refused to accept her & her son, she went to the Franciscan friars in Cortona. But Margaret had difficulty overcoming temptations of the flesh. One Sunday she returned to Loviana with a cord around her neck. At Mass, she asked pardon for her past scandal. She attempted to mutilate her face, but was restrained by Friar Giunta. Margaret earned a living by nursing sick ladies. Later she gave this up to serve the sick poor without recompense, subsisting only on alms. Eventually, she joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and lived in poverty. Her son joined the Franciscans a few years later. Following the example of St. Francis of Assisi, she begged for sustenance and bread. She pursued a life of prayer and penance at Cortona, and there established a hospital for the sick, homeless and impoverished. To secure nurses for the hospital, she instituted a congregation of Tertiary Sisters, known as "le poverelle" (Italian for "the little poor ones"). She also founded a hospital at Cortona and the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy. Some in Cortona turned on Margaret, even accusing her of illicit relations with Friar Giunta. All the while, Margaret continued to preach against vice and many, through her, returned to the sacraments. She also showed extraordinary love for the mysteries of the Eucharist and the Passion of Jesus Christ. She then moved to the ruined Church of St.