St. Margaret of Antioch, Patron Saint of Pregnant Women

The saint of the day for July 20 is St. Margaret of Antioch (275-290), martyr.

Margaret of Antioch was a Christian virgin whose tortures and martyrdom became famous in early books of Acts. Her mother died when she was an infant and her father was a pagan priest. She was converted by her nursemaid, who adopted her. At the age of fifteen, she was noticed by the local prefect who was attracted by her beauty and wanted to marry her, but she spurned him and vowed to keep her virginity for Christ. He turned her in to the Roman authorities to be persecuted. In prison she was swallowed by Satan in the form of a dragon, but the cross she was carrying irritated his throat, and he spit her out unharmed.

Her persecutors tried to kill her by fire and then by drowning, but each time, she survived, converting the growing crowd of onlookers. Finally, she was beheaded, along with her many converts, by Emperor Diocletian.

At the time of her death, she prayed that her persecutors would be pardoned and also that women in childbirth would call upon her for a safe delivery. She is the patron saint of pregnant women, nurses, peasants, and sterility. She also intercedes for those who call on her from their deathbed and is the patron saint of the terminally ill.

Margaret was one of the saints who spoke to St. Joan of Arc, and she is included in a group of saints known as the Fourteen Holy Helpers, who are venerated for their special ability to intercede for people. St. Margaret's feast day is July 20 in the West and July 13 in the East.