Saint Margaret of Hungary
Profile
Daughter of King Bela IV of Hungary and Marie Laskaris; grand-daughter of the Byzantine emperor. When Hungary was freed from the Tatars, her parents had pledged their next child to God. To keep this promise, Margaret was placed in a Dominican convent at Veszprem, Hungary at age 3; Blessed Helen of Hungary served as her novice mistress. She transferred at age ten to the convent of the Blessed Virgin founded by her parents on the Hasen Insel near Buda, where she lived the rest of her life. At one point her father arranged a marriage for her to King Ottokar II of Bohemia, but she adamently refused. She took vows at age 18. Known for severe self-imposed penances, and for kindness to those of lower social station. The investigation for her canonization lists 27 miracles including healings and a case of awakening from death.
Born
- 18 January 1271 at Budapest, Hungary
- relics given to the Poor Clares at Pozsony (modern Bratislava, Slovak Republic) when the Dominican Order in the area was dissolved
- most of her relics were destroyed in 1789, but some are still preserved at Gran, Gyor, Pannonhalma, Hungary
Additional Information
- Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
- Catholic Online
- Catholic Encyclopedia, by A Aldasy
- For All The Saints, by Katherine Rabenstein
- Google Directory
- Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson
MLA Citation
- “Saint Margaret of Hungary”. Saints.SQPN.com. 8 November 2009. Web. {today’s date}. <http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-margaret-of-hungary/>
