Saint of the Day: St. Margaret of Antioch
Feast Day: July 20
This virgin and martyr, the patron saint for a difficult childbirth, is associated with a series of stories about Pelagia of Antioch, who may have been
martyred when Emperor Diocletian ordered the last persecution of Christians in 303.
St. John Chrysostom in the sixth century and later St. Ambrose knew of a Margaret or Pelagia in Antioch (Marina in the Eastern church) who jumped off a building to save her chastity.
Margaret had a strong following as one of the 14 helper saints in the Middle Ages, and was one of the “voices” that St. Joan of Arc heard, urging her to save France.
