Margaret the Virgin

Saint Margaret the Virgin, also known in the West as Margaret of Antioch and in the East as Saint Marina the Great Martyr, is traditionally said to have been born in Antioch in Pisidia (in present-day Turkey) in the early fourth century. Orphaned soon after birth, she was raised by a Christian nurse in the countryside and, while tending sheep, embraced the faith of Christ and consecrated her virginity to God. Her pagan father, a priest, rejected her for this choice. When Olybrius, a Roman governor, desired to marry her, Margaret refused to renounce Christ or surrender the purity she had offered to the Lord. For her steadfast witness she endured harsh tortures and, according to ancient devotion, overcame demonic assaults through the power of the Cross. At last she was beheaded around the time of the Diocletian persecution. Venerated as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, she is invoked especially as patroness of pregnant women, servant maids, those suffering kidney ailments, and against diabolical oppression. Her feast day is July 20.