Saint Margaret of Antioch

AD 289-304 (age 15)

Born: Antioch of Pisidia (Turkey)

Survived: being swallowed by Satan disguised as a dragon, burned by fire, and drowning

Died: Beheading

Patron saint of childbirth, falsely accused, pregnant women, demonic possession

As one of the Saints known to have spoken to Joan of Arc. Saint Margaret of Antioch lived a life of conflict even becoming a point of contention even after her death among church leaders who dismissed her martydom as mainly apocryphal. Saint Margaret is said to have been the daughter of a pagan priest named Aedesius. After her mother’s death Saint Margaret was handed over to be cared for by a Christian nurse and eventually turned her life over to the service of Christ dedicating herself as a virgin. Aedesius disowned his daughter and she survived this act by becoming a shepherdess. Once of marrying age the Governor of the Roman region asked that she renounce her faith as a Christian and marry him. At her refusal she was made a martyr and endured barbaric tortures which instigated her fantastical hagiography.

It is said in various deliveries that Saint Margaret was once devoured by Satan in the form of a dragon while she was held in a prison by her contemptuous suitor. She was only released from the dragon’s innards with the obstruction of a cross that she had held in her hand. Although Margaret had reached Saintly status that was questioned in the fifth century and renounced by Pope Gelasius her legend continued and was exaggerated during the Crusades. Both the powerful in secular and the religious circles could not silence the determination and hope she has brought to many who have her heard her plight.