Saint Who?
Saints Who Lost Loved Ones
Saint Margaret of Scotland
Married laywoman († 1093) Feast: November 16
Margaret was born around 1045. Her father, an Anglo-Saxon prince, was chosen by Saint Edward the Confessor to be his heir. But her father died suddenly, the Normans gained control, and Margaret fled to Scotland, where she was welcomed by King Malcolm III (the same who appears in Shakespeare’s Macbeth).
Malcolm and Margaret were married around the year 1070. They had eight children, two girls and six boys. The king adored his lovely wife. As a biographer notes, he recognized “that Christ truly dwelt in her heart…. What she rejected, he rejected…what she loved, he for love of her loved too.” Malcolm, a fierce warrior, helped her wait upon the poor. Though he could neither read nor write, he had Margaret’s prayer book decorated with jewels, and would kiss it reverently.
Late in 1093, while her husband and son were away at war, Margaret fell deathly ill. Then word came that her husband and a son had fallen in battle. Her caregivers attempted to hide the news from Margaret, but she found out. So did Malcolm’s brother, who chose that moment to attack the castle in hopes of seizing the throne. Despite all this, Margaret died in such tranquility that her biographer, who may have been her confessor, was certain her soul went straight to God. She was canonized in 1250.
Almighty Father, through the prayers of Saint Margaret, strengthen those whose losses seem overwhelming.
