Margaret of Hungary, St.
MARGARET OF HUNGARY, ST.
Dominican contemplative; b. 1242–43; d. Budapest, Jan. 18, 1270. She was a daughter of King Béla IV of Hungary and Mary Lascaris, and a sister of Bl. Jolenta and St. kinga. At an early age Margaret took the habit at Veszprém, Hungary. In 1254 she made profession at the monastery of St. Mary of the Isle, built by her father near Budapest. After refusing offers of royal marriages three times, Margaret went through the solemn ceremony for the consecration of virgins. A true contemplative, endowed with mystical gifts, she spent an austere life in expiation for her people and manifested heroic charity, especially for the poor. Her cult began at her death and was approved in 1789. pius xii canonized her in 1943.
Feast: Jan. 26 (formerly 16).
Bibliography: Congregatio Sacrorum Rituum, Extensionis seu concessionis officii et missae ad universam ecclesiam … B. Margaritae ab Hungaria (Rome 1943), contains vita and depositions. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 36 (1944) 33–34. c. bÖle, Margherita d'Ungheria (Rome 1938). m. catherine, Margaret: Princess of Hungary (Oxford 1945). a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, rev. ed. h. thurston and d. attwater, 4 v. (New York 1956) 1:176–178. i. kirÁly, Árpádházi Szent Margit és a sziget (Budapest 1979). i. bellus and z. szabÓ, eds., Árpád-házi Szent Margit legrégibb legendája és szentté avatási pere (Budapest 1999), legends.
[c. mullay]