Living during the age of the Crusades, when pilgrimage to the Holy Land represented the highest expression of Christian devotion, Margaret undertook not one but multiple demanding pilgrimages that would have challenged even the hardiest medieval travelers. Her life of radical renunciation, austere penance, and finally contemplative prayer as a Cistercian nun exemplifies the medieval understanding of sanctity as a dramatic turning away from worldly comfort toward total dedication to God.
Though historical records of her life are sparse compared to more famous medieval saints, what we know of St. Margaret of England reveals a woman of extraordinary faith, courage, and determination who pursued holiness with single-minded devotion.
Historical Context and Background
To understand St. Margaret of England, we must first understand the world in which she lived—the 12th century, a time of profound religious fervor, crusading zeal, and monastic reform in Western Christianity.
The 12th century was the golden age of medieval Christianity. It was the era of the great Cistercian expansion, when St. Bernard of Clairvaux's spiritual writings were transforming Christian spirituality and when Cistercian monasteries were being founded throughout Europe. It was the age of the Second and Third Crusades, when thousands of European Christians journeyed to the Holy Land in armed pilgrimage. It was a time when pilgrimage itself—to Jerusalem, to Santiago de Compostela, to Rome, to countless local shrines—was central to Christian piety.
The 12th century was also a time of significant English presence and influence in Hungary. The two kingdoms maintained diplomatic and dynastic connections, with English princesses marrying into Hungarian royal families and English clergy serving in Hungarian ecclesiastical positions. This helps explain how Margaret, though of English ancestry, came to be born and raised in Hungary.
Early Life in Hungary
St. Margaret of England was born in Hungary in the mid-12th century, probably in the 1150s or early 1160s, though the exact date is uncertain. Historical sources tell us that her mother was an Englishwoman, and tradition holds that this English noblewoman was related to St. Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury who was martyred in 1170.
This connection to the Becket family, if authentic, would place Margaret within the highest circles of English nobility and would help explain her designation as "Margaret of England" despite being born in Hungary. Thomas Becket came from a prosperous London merchant family that had risen to prominence, and his relatives included people of considerable social standing.
Margaret's father remains unknown to history, though he was presumably connected to either the Hungarian royal court or the English community in Hungary. The fact that Margaret later had the resources to undertake extensive pilgrimages suggests that her family was wealthy and well-positioned socially.
Growing up in the Hungarian court or in the English community in Hungary, Margaret would have received the education appropriate to a noble young woman of her time. This would have included religious instruction, literacy in Latin (essential for prayer and worship), training in domestic management, and the accomplishments expected of a lady of her station.
Hungary in the mid-12th century was a strongly Catholic kingdom. The nation had been Christianized under St. Stephen I in the early 11th century, and by Margaret's time, the faith was well-established. The Hungarian church maintained close ties with Rome and participated fully in the reform movements and spiritual currents of 12th-century Western Christianity.
Margaret's upbringing in this devoutly Catholic environment shaped her spiritual formation. Hungarian spirituality of this period emphasized pilgrimage, veneration of saints and relics, monastic ideals, and penitential practices. These would all become central to Margaret's own spiritual life.
According to the limited historical records we possess, Margaret showed early signs of deep piety and religious devotion. She was drawn to prayer, to hearing accounts of the saints' lives, and to contemplating the mysteries of faith. She seems to have had a particular devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which would later manifest in her pilgrimages to major Marian shrines.
The Decision to Pilgrimage
At some point in her young adulthood, Margaret made a momentous decision that would define the rest of her life: she resolved to undertake a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the holiest site in Christianity, the place of Christ's passion, death, and resurrection.
For a young woman of noble birth in the 12th century, this was an extraordinary decision. While pilgrimage was common in medieval Christianity, a journey to Jerusalem was particularly challenging, expensive, and dangerous. The Holy Land was a war zone during the Crusader period, with constant conflict between Christian, Muslim, and various other forces. The journey itself—whether by land through the Balkans and Anatolia or by sea across the Mediterranean—was fraught with perils including storms, pirates, bandits, disease, and the hardships of medieval travel.
That Margaret decided to undertake this pilgrimage at all speaks to the intensity of her religious devotion. That she decided to take her mother with her (or that her mother decided to accompany her daughter) adds another remarkable dimension to the story. Here were two women of English-Hungarian background setting out on one of the most demanding journeys imaginable in the medieval world.
What motivated Margaret's pilgrimage? The medieval sources don't give us her inner thoughts, but we can infer from the broader context of 12th-century spirituality. Pilgrimage to Jerusalem was understood as the highest form of devotion, a way of literally following in Christ's footsteps, of visiting the places sanctified by His earthly presence. Pilgrims believed that praying at these holy sites was especially efficacious and that the journey itself was a form of penance that could remit sins.
For someone like Margaret, who seems to have been drawn to a life of radical devotion and renunciation, the Jerusalem pilgrimage represented the ultimate expression of her love for Christ. It was a way of leaving behind the comfortable world she knew and embarking on a journey that required faith, courage, and complete trust in divine providence.
Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Life in Bethlehem
Margaret and her mother set out for Jerusalem, probably in the 1170s or early 1180s. The journey would have taken many months, whether they traveled by land or sea or some combination of both. We have no detailed account of their journey, but we know they eventually reached the Holy Land.
The Jerusalem that Margaret encountered was the capital of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, established after the First Crusade captured the city in 1099. Though constantly under military pressure from Muslim forces (the city would fall to Saladin in 1187, not long after Margaret's time there), Jerusalem in the 1170s and 1180s was a center of Christian pilgrimage with numerous churches, monasteries, hospices, and religious sites.
Margaret and her mother would have visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the traditional sites of Christ's crucifixion and burial. They would have walked the Via Dolorosa, the path Jesus took carrying His cross. They would have visited the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, Bethany, and the many other places associated with events in Christ's life.
But Margaret and her mother did not simply visit Jerusalem as pilgrims and then return home. Instead, they made a decision that was unusual even in that age of religious fervor: they settled in Bethlehem, just a few miles south of Jerusalem, dedicating themselves to a life of prayer and penance in the town of Christ's birth.
Bethlehem had been an important Christian pilgrimage site since at least the 4th century, when St. Helena built a church over the grotto traditionally identified as the place of Christ's birth. By the Crusader period, Bethlehem had a significant Christian community including both local Christians and Western European settlers. The Church of the Nativity was one of the major pilgrimage destinations in the Holy Land.
In Bethlehem, Margaret and her mother lived what the sources describe as lives of "austere penance." This suggests they adopted a semi-monastic or eremitical lifestyle, probably living in simple accommodation near the holy sites, spending their days in prayer, fasting, and works of charity. They would have attended liturgies at the Church of the Nativity and other local churches, participated in the rhythms of religious life in this holy city, and dedicated themselves to contemplation of the mysteries of the Incarnation.
This way of life represented a complete renunciation of their former status and comfort. Instead of living as noblewomen in Hungarian society, they lived as poor pilgrims in a foreign land, sustained by whatever resources they had brought with them or could earn through simple work, focused entirely on spiritual pursuits.
The decision to remain in Bethlehem rather than return to Hungary also reflects a spiritual principle common in medieval monasticism: stabilitas loci, stability of place. Rather than constantly moving from one holy site to another, Margaret and her mother rooted themselves in one particularly holy location, allowing them to deepen their prayer and contemplation without the distractions of constant travel.
Her Mother's Death in the Holy Land
After some time living this austere life in Bethlehem—we don't know exactly how long, but it may have been several years—Margaret's mother died. The sources tell us simply that "her mother died there in the Holy Land," without providing details about the circumstances or the cause of death.
This must have been a profound moment in Margaret's life. She had left Hungary with her mother, undertaken the long and dangerous journey to Jerusalem with her mother, and established their life of prayer and penance in Bethlehem together with her mother. Now she found herself alone, a foreigner far from her homeland, without her closest companion and family member.
The death of a loved one always challenges our faith, but Margaret's mother dying in the Holy Land carried special significance. In medieval Christian understanding, to die in the Holy Land, especially after a life of pilgrimage and penance, was considered especially blessed. Jerusalem was not just the earthly city but also represented the heavenly Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem described in the Book of Revelation. To die in such proximity to the holy sites of Christ's life, death, and resurrection was thought to bring special graces and to ease one's passage to eternal life.
Yet this theological understanding couldn't entirely remove the pain of loss. Margaret was now alone, and she had to decide what to do next. Should she remain in Bethlehem, continuing the life she and her mother had established? Should she return to Hungary? Or should she pursue a different path?
Pilgrimages to Montserrat and Le Puy
Margaret chose to continue her pilgrimage, but now she would journey to two of the most important Marian shrines in Western Europe: Our Lady of Montserrat in Spain and Our Lady of Le Puy in France.
This decision reveals several things about Margaret's spirituality. First, her devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary was central to her faith. Having lived in Bethlehem, the town of the Nativity where Mary gave birth to Jesus, she now sought out major centers of Marian devotion in Europe. Second, she was drawn to pilgrimage itself as a spiritual practice. Rather than settling into a comfortable religious life, she continued to embrace the hardships and uncertainties of travel as a form of penance and prayer.
Margaret first traveled to Montserrat in Catalonia, Spain. The shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat, located in a spectacular mountain setting, housed (and still houses) a famous statue of the Virgin and Child known as La Moreneta (the Black Madonna). By the 12th century, Montserrat was already an important pilgrimage destination and home to a Benedictine monastery.
The journey from the Holy Land to Spain would have been long and challenging, probably requiring sea travel across the Mediterranean and then an overland journey through Spain. That Margaret undertook this journey alone, as a woman without male protection in an age when such travel was dangerous, speaks to her courage and determination as well as her trust in God's providence.
At Montserrat, Margaret would have venerated the miraculous image of Our Lady, attended Mass and the Divine Office with the monks, and spent time in prayer in this place of great natural beauty and spiritual power. The monastery at Montserrat had been recently reformed and was experiencing a spiritual revival, making it an attractive destination for devout pilgrims.
From Montserrat, Margaret traveled to another great Marian shrine: Our Lady of Le Puy in the Auvergne region of central France. Le Puy-en-Velay was one of the most important pilgrimage sites in medieval France, with a statue of the Black Virgin that attracted pilgrims from throughout Christendom. The shrine was also a major starting point for pilgrims on the Way of St. James heading to Santiago de Compostela.
The Cathedral of Notre-Dame du Puy, perched dramatically on a rocky outcrop, was and remains one of the most impressive religious sites in France. Pilgrims would climb the steep steps to the cathedral to venerate the image of the Virgin, seek her intercession, and receive the bishop's blessing.
Margaret's time at Le Puy proved to be a turning point in her spiritual journey. After years of pilgrimage and penitential living, after the death of her mother, after visiting the holiest sites in Christianity and the greatest Marian shrines in Europe, Margaret felt called to a new form of life: the contemplative life of a Cistercian nun.
Entering the Cistercian Order
Near Le Puy was the Cistercian Abbey of Sauvebรฉnite, a women's monastery following the strict observance of the Cistercian Order. The Cistercians, founded in 1098 as a reform movement seeking to live the Rule of St. Benedict with greater strictness and simplicity, had spread rapidly throughout Europe in the 12th century. By Margaret's time, there were hundreds of Cistercian monasteries for both men and women.
Cistercian spirituality emphasized poverty, simplicity, manual labor, and contemplative prayer. Cistercian monks and nuns lived in remote locations, supported themselves through their own work (often agriculture), celebrated the Divine Office together seven times daily, and spent hours each day in lectio divina (sacred reading) and silent prayer. The Cistercian life was demanding, requiring complete renunciation of personal property, strict obedience to the Rule and to superiors, and lifelong commitment to the monastic community.
For Margaret, who had already demonstrated her capacity for renunciation and her desire for a life focused entirely on God, the Cistercian vocation was a natural next step. After years of pilgrimage—a life of movement, uncertainty, and constant change—she was ready to embrace stability, community, and the rhythms of monastic life.
Margaret entered the Abbey of Sauvebรฉnite as a postulant, beginning the process of discernment and formation that would lead to her taking vows as a Cistercian nun. We don't know the exact date of her entry, but it was probably in the late 1180s.
The life Margaret entered was rigorous. Cistercian nuns rose in the middle of the night for Matins, the first of the seven hours of the Divine Office. They spent their days in prayer, work, and silence. They ate a simple vegetarian diet (no meat was permitted in Cistercian monasteries). They owned no personal possessions. They wore a white habit and black scapular, the distinctive dress of the Cistercian Order. They were cloistered, meaning they did not leave the monastery except in extraordinary circumstances.
For someone like Margaret, who had traveled from Hungary to Jerusalem, from the Holy Land to Spain to France, who had lived independently for years as a pilgrim, the enclosed life of a Cistercian nun represented a complete transformation. No longer would she wander from shrine to shrine; instead, she would stay in one place for the rest of her life. No longer would she be responsible for directing her own spiritual life; instead, she would live under obedience to the Rule of St. Benedict and to her abbess.
Yet this enclosure and obedience brought their own freedom. Within the cloister, Margaret could dedicate herself entirely to prayer and union with God without the distractions and demands of life in the world. The regular rhythm of the Divine Office provided structure for her prayer. The silence of the monastery created space for contemplation. The community of her sister nuns provided support, encouragement, and a context for growth in charity.
Life as a Cistercian Nun
Margaret seems to have thrived in Cistercian life. Though we have few specific details about her years at Sauvebรฉnite, we know that she was remembered after her death as a holy nun who lived the Cistercian vocation with fidelity and fervor.
The Cistercian spirituality that Margaret embraced was deeply biblical and Christocentric. Cistercian prayer and meditation focused intensely on the humanity of Christ, His suffering and death, and His love for humanity. St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the great Cistercian spiritual writer, had emphasized devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to Christ crucified. He had also promoted deep Marian devotion, seeing Mary as the perfect model of humility, obedience, and love for God.
This spirituality must have resonated deeply with Margaret, whose pilgrimages had all been focused on Christ (in Jerusalem and Bethlehem) and Mary (at Montserrat and Le Puy). Now, in the Cistercian cloister, she could continue and deepen these devotions through contemplative prayer.
The Cistercian emphasis on simplicity and poverty would also have appealed to someone who had already embraced a life of renunciation. Margaret had given up wealth, status, comfort, and security to follow Christ; in the Cistercian monastery, this renunciation was formalized and supported by a community committed to the same ideals.
Manual labor was another important aspect of Cistercian life. Unlike some other monastic orders that relied heavily on lay brothers or hired workers, Cistercians believed that monks and nuns should support themselves through their own work. For women's communities, this typically meant textile work—spinning, weaving, sewing—as well as maintaining the monastery gardens and buildings. This combination of prayer and work, ora et labora in the words of St. Benedict, helped sanctify all of life and prevented the idleness that St. Benedict had called "the enemy of the soul."
Margaret would have participated in all these aspects of Cistercian life: the long hours of communal prayer in the choir, the periods of lectio divina and personal prayer, the manual work that supported the community, the simple meals taken in silence while one sister read from Scripture or the lives of the saints, the recreation periods when conversation was permitted, the Chapter of Faults when the community acknowledged their failings and sought forgiveness.
Death and Miracles
St. Margaret of England died at the Abbey of Sauvebรฉnite in 1192. The sources don't record the circumstances of her death, though given her earlier life of austere penance and the rigors of Cistercian life, it's possible that her health had been compromised by years of self-denial.
What is significant is what happened after her death. Almost immediately, miracles were reported at her tomb. Medieval Christians believed that the bodies and burial places of saints were channels of divine grace and power, and that God worked miracles through the relics of the holy ones as a way of confirming their sanctity and as a blessing to the faithful.
The nature of these miracles is not specified in the limited sources we have, but they were apparently significant enough and well-attested enough that Margaret's tomb became a pilgrimage site. People began to come to Sauvebรฉnite specifically to pray at Margaret's tomb and to seek her intercession for healing or other needs.
This development transformed the obscure Cistercian abbey into a place of pilgrimage. While it never became one of the major international pilgrimage destinations like Santiago de Compostela or Canterbury, it attracted regional pilgrims and gained a reputation as a place where prayers were answered and graces were received.
The cult of St. Margaret of England (in the technical sense of her veneration as a saint) spread from Sauvebรฉnite to other areas, particularly in the Auvergne region of France and in Cistercian communities. While she never achieved the fame of major saints like St. Francis or St. Thomas Aquinas, she was recognized locally as a holy woman whose life and intercession brought blessings to the faithful.
Canonization and Feast Day
The formal process of canonization as we know it today did not exist in the 12th century. Saints were typically recognized through popular devotion and local episcopal approval rather than through the centralized Vatican process that developed later. Margaret seems to have been recognized as a saint through this informal process, with her cult developing organically from the miracles reported at her tomb and the testimony of those who had known her.
St. Margaret of England's feast day is celebrated on February 3. This date was established by local custom and has been maintained in martyrologies and calendars of saints, particularly in France and among Cistercian communities.
While Margaret has never been as widely known as some other medieval saints, she has maintained a place in the Catholic calendar of saints and continues to be honored, especially by those with devotion to the Cistercian Order, by pilgrims, and by those who feel a special connection to her unique story.
Historical Challenges and Questions
It's important to acknowledge that our knowledge of St. Margaret of England is limited and comes from sources that are not as extensive or reliable as those for better-documented medieval saints. The main source for her life appears to be medieval hagiographical traditions preserved in martyrologies and saints' calendars, supplemented by records from the Abbey of Sauvebรฉnite.
Some historians have questioned certain details of her story or have suggested that some elements may have been embellished over time in the manner common to medieval hagiography. The connection to St. Thomas Becket, while traditional, is difficult to verify historically. The exact dates and details of her pilgrimages are uncertain.
However, the core elements of her story—that she was a woman of English descent born in Hungary, that she undertook pilgrimage to Jerusalem with her mother, that her mother died in the Holy Land, that she subsequently made pilgrimages to Montserrat and Le Puy, that she became a Cistercian nun at Sauvebรฉnite where she died in 1192, and that miracles were reported at her tomb—these central facts appear to be historically reliable based on the evidence that survives.
Modern historical scholarship has become more cautious about accepting all aspects of medieval hagiographies without critical examination. Yet even with this critical approach, St. Margaret of England emerges as a real historical figure whose life, even if some details are uncertain, provides an authentic witness to medieval Christian spirituality and devotion.
The Significance of Pilgrimage in Margaret's Spirituality
One of the most striking aspects of St. Margaret's life is the centrality of pilgrimage to her spiritual journey. Understanding the medieval understanding of pilgrimage helps us appreciate the depth of her devotion and the radical nature of her choices.
In medieval Christianity, pilgrimage was far more than tourism or sightseeing. It was understood as a form of prayer in motion, a physical journey that symbolized and enacted the soul's journey to God. The pilgrim left behind the familiar and comfortable, accepted hardship and danger, and journeyed toward a sacred destination where heaven and earth met in a special way.
Pilgrimage was also deeply penitential. The hardships of the journey—the physical discomfort, the danger, the uncertainty—were offered to God as a form of penance for sin. Many pilgrims undertook their journeys after confessing serious sins, seeing the pilgrimage as a way of demonstrating true contrition and doing satisfaction for their sins.
For Margaret, pilgrimage became a way of life for many years. Her journey to Jerusalem was not a brief trip but led to years of residence in Bethlehem. Her subsequent pilgrimages to Montserrat and Le Puy demonstrated that she saw pilgrimage itself as a vocation, a calling to a mobile form of dedication to God.
This pilgrimage spirituality also reflected the medieval understanding that Christians are pilgrims on earth, that we have "no lasting city" here (Hebrews 13:14), that we are journeying toward our true home in heaven. By literally living as a pilgrim, Margaret embodied this theological truth in a concrete way.
When she finally entered the Cistercian monastery, Margaret didn't abandon her pilgrimage spirituality but rather transformed it. The cloister became her Jerusalem, the place where she would spend the rest of her earthly pilgrimage drawing closer to God. The interior journey of contemplative prayer replaced the exterior journeys to holy shrines, but the fundamental orientation toward God remained the same.
Margaret's Marian Devotion
Another key aspect of St. Margaret's spirituality was her devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is evident from her choice of pilgrimage destinations after leaving the Holy Land—both Montserrat and Le Puy were Marian shrines—and from her entry into the Cistercian Order, which had a strong Marian character.
Medieval Marian devotion emphasized Mary as Mother of God (Theotokos), as Mother of Mercy, as the perfect model of Christian discipleship, and as powerful intercessor for sinners. Mary was seen as the New Eve who reversed the sin of the first Eve through her "yes" to God at the Annunciation. She was honored for her virginity, her humility, her complete openness to God's will, and her compassionate love for all of humanity.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the great Cistercian spiritual writer, had been instrumental in developing and promoting Marian spirituality in the 12th century. His sermons on Mary, his commentary on the Song of Songs (often interpreted as an allegory of Christ's love for the Church and the soul, with Mary as the exemplar), and his Marian prayers all emphasized devotion to the Mother of God.
For Margaret, Mary would have represented the perfect model of a woman dedicated entirely to God. Mary's pilgrimage to visit her cousin Elizabeth (the Visitation), her presence at the foot of the cross during Jesus' crucifixion, her faithfulness through joy and sorrow—all of these aspects of Mary's life would have resonated with Margaret's own experiences.
The Cistercian monasteries were typically dedicated to Mary, and Cistercian spirituality included special reverence for the Mother of God. The Saturday Office in honor of Mary, the daily recitation of the Salve Regina and other Marian antiphons, and the emphasis on imitating Mary's humility and obedience were all part of Cistercian life that Margaret embraced.
The Cistercian Context
To fully appreciate St. Margaret's life, we need to understand the Cistercian movement that she joined in her final years. The Cistercian Order represented one of the most important monastic reforms of the Middle Ages, and its spirituality shaped Margaret's final years.
The Cistercians were founded in 1098 when a group of monks, dissatisfied with what they saw as the laxity of traditional Benedictine monasticism, established a new monastery at Cรฎteaux in Burgundy. They sought to follow the Rule of St. Benedict more literally and strictly, eliminating what they saw as later additions and compromises.
Under the leadership of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), who entered Cรฎteaux in 1112 and later became abbot of the new foundation at Clairvaux, the Cistercian movement exploded across Europe. By the mid-12th century, there were hundreds of Cistercian monasteries, and the order was renowned for its austere spirituality and its economic success.
Key elements of Cistercian life and spirituality included:
Poverty and Simplicity: Cistercian churches were plain and unadorned compared to the elaborate Romanesque churches of traditional Benedictine monasteries. Ornate vestments, precious vessels, and decorative arts were rejected in favor of simple functionality. This simplicity was meant to focus attention on God rather than on created things.
Manual Labor: Cistercians believed in supporting themselves through their own work rather than relying on donations or the labor of others. This led them to develop efficient agricultural practices and to become leaders in medieval farming, wine-making, and other industries.
Contemplation: Despite their emphasis on work, Cistercians maintained the traditional monastic focus on prayer, particularly the contemplative prayer that seeks direct experience of God's presence. The goal was to combine active work and contemplative prayer in a balanced life.
Silence: Cistercians observed strict silence except during designated recreation periods and when necessary speech was required for work or community life. This silence created space for interior prayer and attention to God.
Community Life: Cistercians lived in close-knit communities where everyone knew everyone else. The community itself was seen as a school of charity where monks and nuns learned to love God by learning to love their brothers and sisters.
Liturgy: The Divine Office, the seven daily times of communal prayer, was central to Cistercian life. Cistercians sang the Office in a simple, austere style without the elaborate musical developments found in some other orders.
When Margaret entered the Cistercian life at Sauvebรฉnite, she embraced all of these elements. After years of independent pilgrimage, she submitted herself to the discipline and structure of communal monastic life. After living as a wanderer, she embraced stability. After years of external pilgrimage, she began the interior pilgrimage of contemplative prayer.
Legacy and Contemporary Relevance
While St. Margaret of England never achieved the fame of major medieval saints, her life and witness continue to offer valuable lessons for contemporary Catholics and all Christians seeking to live lives of deeper faith and devotion.
The Call to Pilgrimage: Margaret's life reminds us that Christian life is fundamentally a pilgrimage. We are called to leave behind our comfortable attachments and to journey toward God, even when that journey is difficult or costly. While few of us are called to Margaret's literal pilgrimages, all of us are called to the spiritual pilgrimage of growing closer to God day by day.
Radical Renunciation: Margaret's willingness to give up wealth, status, security, and comfort for the sake of following Christ challenges our own attachments to worldly things. In an age of consumerism and comfort-seeking, her example of austere living and joyful poverty offers a counter-cultural witness.
Trust in Providence: Margaret undertook dangerous journeys, lived in foreign lands, faced the death of her mother, and embraced an uncertain future—all with apparent trust that God would provide and guide. Her faith challenges our anxiety and desire for control.
Marian Devotion: Margaret's deep love for Mary reminds us of the importance of Marian piety in Catholic spirituality. Mary, as Mother of God and our spiritual mother, leads us to her Son and shows us how to say "yes" to God's will as she did.
The Contemplative Call: Margaret's decision to enter monastic life after years of active pilgrimage shows the value and necessity of contemplative prayer. Even those of us who live active lives in the world need times of silence, solitude, and prayer to nourish our souls and sustain our service.
Perseverance in the Spiritual Journey: Margaret's life was not a straight line from worldly life to sanctity. She grew and developed spiritually over many years, through different phases and different forms of religious life. Her example encourages us to persevere in our own spiritual journeys, trusting that God is leading us even when the path is unclear.
Devotion to St. Margaret of England
Those who wish to invoke St. Margaret of England's intercession might find inspiration in her particular experiences and virtues:
Pilgrims and Travelers: Given her extensive pilgrimages, Margaret is a natural patron for those undertaking pilgrimages or significant journeys, whether physical or spiritual.
Those Discerning Religious Vocations: Margaret's journey from worldly life through years of pilgrimage to finally finding her vocation as a Cistercian nun offers encouragement to those discerning religious life.
Those Who Have Lost Loved Ones: Margaret's experience of her mother's death in a foreign land reminds us that she understands the pain of grief and loss and can intercede for those who mourn.
Those Seeking Deeper Prayer: As a contemplative nun, Margaret can intercede for those seeking to grow in contemplative prayer and deeper union with God.
Those Facing Uncertainty: Margaret lived with great uncertainty for many years, not knowing where her journey would lead. She can pray for those facing uncertain futures or difficult transitions.
St. Margaret of England's life, though lived more than eight centuries ago, continues to speak to us today. In an age of easy travel and comfort, she reminds us of the value of sacrifice and renunciation. In a time of distraction and noise, she points us toward contemplative silence. In an era of individualism, she shows us the value of community and obedience. In a culture that often forgets God, she demonstrates the beauty of a life oriented entirely toward the divine.
Her journey from Hungary to Jerusalem, from Bethlehem to Montserrat, from Le Puy to the Cistercian cloister at Sauvebรฉnite, represents not just geographical movement but spiritual progress. She was always moving toward God, always seeking deeper union with Christ, always willing to leave behind what she knew for what God was calling her toward.
The miracles reported at her tomb testify that God honored her faithfulness and continues to work through her intercession. Though she may not be as famous as some other medieval saints, she remains a genuine witness to the transforming power of faith and the joy of giving one's life completely to God.
May St. Margaret of England's example inspire us to greater devotion, her intercession aid us in our struggles, and her witness remind us that the path to holiness, though demanding, is the only path that leads to true and lasting joy.
St. Margaret of England, pray for us!
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