Saint Margaret of Antioch
Painting Saint Margaret of Antioch
by Brusasorci
"Saint Michael, when he came to me, told me that Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret would come to me and that I should act by their advice,
that they were bidden to lead me in what I had to do and that I should believe in what they would say to me and that it was by God's order." Saint Joan of Arc speaking at her trial
One of the Voices that spoke to Joan of Arc was Saint Margaret who was an early church martyr who lived in the Roman Empire about 300 A.D. The legend of her life is that she was the daughter of a pagan priest in Antioch who disowned her when she converted to Christianity. She left her father's house and lived with her childhood nurse who had led her to Christ. Being very beautiful she attracted the attention of the Roman prefect who sought to marry her or make her his concubine.
When Margaret resisted his advances he had her brought to trial for being a Christian where she was threatened with torture and death unless she renounced her faith. When she refused to renounce her faith in Christ the Roman officials first tried to burn her but she was left untouched by the flames. She was then bound hand and foot and thrown into a cauldron of boiling water but once again she remained unhurt. She was finally martyred when the Roman prefect ordered her to be beheaded. During her persecutions she had an encounter with Satan in the form of a dragon so she is frequently painted with a dragon at her feet to represent her overcoming him.
Saint Margaret's feast day is July 20.
To learn more about Joan of Arc's other Voices go to:
St. Catherine of Alexandria
St. Michael the Archangel
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