Saint Margaret of Antioch

detail of a stained glass window of Saint Margaret of Antioch, date and artist unknown; church of Saint-Denis-de-la-Croix-Rousse in Lyon, France; photographed on 29 October 2015 by Xavier Caré; swiped from Wikimedia CommonsAlso known as

  • Margaret of the Latins
  • Margherita
  • Marina
  • Margaritha
  • Marine
  • Margaretha

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Virgin and martyr whose story is know to us from a collection of legends, but no contemporary history. Her father was a pagan priest in Pisidian Antioch, Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Her mother died when Margaret was an infant, and the girl was raised by a Christian woman. Margaret’s father disowned her, her nurse adopted her, and Margaret converted, consecrating herself and her virginity to God.

One day a Roman prefect saw the beautiful young Margaret as she was tending sheep, and tried to get her into his bed. When she refused, the official denounced her as a outlaw Christian, and she was brought to trial. When she refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods, the authorities tried to burn her, then boil her in a large cauldron; each time her prayers kept her unharmed. She was finally martyred by beheading.

Part of her story involves her meeting the devil in the form of a dragon, being swallowed by the dragon, and then escaping safely when the cross she carried irritated the dragon‘s innards; this accounts for this virgin’s association with pregnancy, labour, and childbirth. She was one of the saints who appeared to Saint Joan of Arc. One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

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MLA Citation

  • “Saint Margaret of Antioch“. CatholicSaints.Info. 15 March 2024. Web. 3 May 2024. <>