Who was Blessed Margaret of Castello?
Margaret of Castello (1287-1320) is considered the patron of the unwanted. She was born dreadfully deformed; a dwarf, totally blind, suffering from severe scoliosis and so lame she could hardly walk. When she was only six years old, Margaret’s father had her walled up in a small cell attached to a forest church. As seventeen, Margaret’s parents, seeking a miraculous cure, took her on a pilgrimage to the medieval Italian city of Castello. When the miracle failed to occur, she was abandoned by her parents. Margaret became a beggar and was befriended by other beggars. She eventually became a Dominican and dedicated herself to visiting the imprisoned and to comforting the sick and dying. She was always compassionate, sensitive and understanding to others and brought peace wherever she went. Margaret is interred under the main altar of the Church of Saint Dominic, Citta-di-Castello, Italy. Two hundred years after her death, on June 9, 1558, her body was exhumed and although never embalmed,
