Who Was Saint Margherita da Città di Castello?

Saints

A blind Dominican tertiary abandoned as a child, later canonized in 2021 after centuries of devotion in Città di Castello, Italy.

Saint Margherita da Città di Castello was an Italian religious of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, born blind and with disabilities and abandoned by her parents, who died in Città di Castello on April 13, 1320, at about thirty-two years old. Taken in by the townspeople, she lived a life of deep prayer and charity that made her a beloved local figure. She was beatified in 1609 and finally canonized in 2021 by Pope Francis.

No known portrait of Saint Margherita Da Citta Di Castello
No portrait or image of Saint Margherita Da Citta Di Castello is known to survive; this icon marks pages without an identifiable image.

Quick Facts

  • Born: c. 1287
  • Died: April 13, 1320, age about 32
  • Place: Città di Castello, Italy
  • Venerated as: Religious of the Third Order of Saint Dominic

Who Was Saint Margherita da Città di Castello?

Saint Margherita da Città di Castello was an Italian religious of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, born blind and with physical disabilities, who died in Città di Castello on April 13, 1320, at about thirty-two years old. Abandoned by her parents as a child because of her disabilities, she was taken in by the townspeople and eventually entered Dominican tertiary life, becoming known for her deep prayer life and care for others despite her own hardships.

Historical Setting

Medieval Italian towns like Città di Castello were, by the early fourteenth century, home to vibrant lay penitential movements connected to the new mendicant orders, the Dominicans and Franciscans, which offered a formal religious path to laypeople, including women with no dowry or family support, who wished to live consecrated lives within their own communities rather than behind cloister walls.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Margherita da Città di Castello

Margherita is remembered for transforming profound early rejection and physical hardship into a life of deep prayer and practical charity toward others in need, becoming a beloved figure in Città di Castello long before her sanctity received formal recognition.

Canonization and Feast Day

The production register records Margherita’s beatification in 1609 and canonization in 2021, when Pope Francis formally canonized her after centuries of local veneration in Città di Castello.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Margherita’s life is a powerful witness that human dignity and holiness are not diminished by disability or rejection — she found, and gave to others, a love that her own family had failed to offer her.

A Prayer to Saint Margherita da Città di Castello

Saint Margherita da Città di Castello, blind from birth yet full of light, pray for all who face rejection because of disability, that they may know their dignity and worth in God’s eyes. Amen.

Sources

  • Vatican.va (canonization records, 2021)
  • Butler’s Lives of the Saints
  • The Roman Martyrology