The words spoken by the prophet Isaiah in his poetic song of the "suffering servant" could serve as an epitaph for Margaret of Città di Castello, known also as Saint Margaret of Metola: "Many were astonished at him, so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals."
Born blind and physically disabled in Metola, near Mercatello sul Metauro in the Pesaro-Urbino region, Margaret's parents abandoned her in a church after their prayers for a miraculous healing went unanswered. Local women took her in, providing shelter in turns. She later found refuge in a monastery but was soon expelled because her devout life served as a stern rebuke to the lukewarm and dissolute religious there.
Margaret then turned to the Third Order of Saint Dominic, embracing with generosity its program of prayer and penance until her final encounter with Christ. She maintained a tender devotion to the Holy Family throughout her life.
Her incorrupt body is venerated in the church of San Domenico in Città di Castello, Perugia. In 1609, Pope Paul V granted the Dominicans of that city permission to celebrate Mass and the Office in her honor. On April 6, 1675, Pope Clement X extended this privilege to the entire Order. In 1988, the local Bishop of Urbino and Città di Castello proclaimed her Diocesan Patroness of the blind.
The diocese of Città di Castello, on the seventh centenary of the blessed's death, relaunched her canonization cause by forming a special committee. "Blessed Margaret, severely disabled, can help many people today," says Bishop Domenico Cancian. "Hers is a powerful message against the culture of disposability. Devotion to her remains strong in our city; she left a profound mark. Several charitable works have been inspired by her, including sisters who welcomed the blind."
On April 24, 2021, Pope Francis received Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, in audience. He confirmed the conclusions of the ordinary session of cardinals and bishops, members of the Congregation, and decided to extend to the Universal Church the cult of Blessed Margaret of Città di Castello, of the Third Order of Preachers. Born around 1287 in Metola, Italy, and died in Città di Castello on April 13, 1320, she was inscribed in the catalogue of Saints through "equivalent canonization."
P. Vincenzo Di Blasio