The Saints: St. Margaret of Hungary

1242 - 1270 / Feast - Jan. 18

Given as a toddler to the Dominicans when Tartar invaders threatened Hungary, this royal beauty became a nun in 1261. When her father suggested a dispensation for her to marry the king of Bohemia, Margaret threatened to cut off her nose and lips. Her excesses in convent life, from demeaning tasks to severe fasting and sleep deprivation, led to ecstatic trances and an early death. She was not canonized until 1943, when Hungary needed relief from Nazi oppressors.