Margaret was born in Laviano in the province of Perugia, Italy. She was neglected by her father, and by her step-mother on her father’s re-marriage following the death of her mother. She left home at 18 years of age, lived with a young nobleman, Arsenius, in Montepulciano for nine years, bearing him a son out of wedlock. The murder of her lover shocked Margaret into a change of life. She became a Secular Franciscan, and her son subsequently joined the Friars Minor. Her life of penance and reparation was accompanied by assistance to the poor for whom she founded a hospital and a special group of women to look after it. She received great mystical graces, and was a messenger of peace to citizens at war with each other. Margaret died in Cortona on 22nd February 1297. She was canonised in 1728 by Benedict XIII.
First Reading: Ezek. 18: 21-23, 27-28; Gospel: Luke 15: 1-10
