Saint Margaret of Scotland

Saint Margaret of Scotland was born around 1045 in the Kingdom of Hungary, the daughter of the exiled English prince Edward and granddaughter of King Edmund Ironside. Raised in a deeply Christian court, she returned to England in 1057, only to see her family’s hopes for peace and stability shattered after the Norman Conquest. Fleeing north, Margaret and her family found refuge in Scotland, and by 1070 she married King Malcolm III, becoming Queen of Alba. Margaret’s holiness shone in both prayer and service. She sought to renew the Church in Scotland, encouraging worship and discipline more closely aligned with the wider Church, and she gently influenced her husband and children toward justice and faith. Known for tireless charity, she cared for orphans and the poor, imitating Christ in humility and compassion. She also aided pilgrims by establishing a ferry across the Firth of Forth on the way to St Andrews. Margaret died at Edinburgh Castle on 16 November 1093, shortly after hearing of the deaths of her husband and son in battle. She was canonized in 1250. Her feast day is November 16.