Saint Margaret of Castello was born with dwarfism, blindness and a hunchback. Her parents had wanted a boy, and they were not happy with a disabled daughter. Her parents locked her away in a doorless room attached to a church. The parish priest befriended her, and she grew close to God.
When she was 16, her parents took her to a shrine in the city of Castello to pray for a miraculous healing. However, she was not cured. Saint Margaret's parents abandoned her. She begged for her food and eventually ended up at a Dominican convent. She became a Third Order Dominican. Saint Margaret cared for the sick, taught poor children, and ministered to prisoners in jail. She was beloved for her cheerful, sacrificial charity.
The tragedy in Saint Margaret’s life is not that she was born with disabilities, but that her parents valued appearances, wealth, and social status more than love. Saint Margaret may not have had her parents’ love, but she knew that she was loved by Jesus. His love was her source of happiness. Let us ask Saint Margaret of Castello to help us remember that we can be happy in any situation knowing that God loves us. She is the patron saint of the poor, the crippled, and the unwanted.