Margaret took her son and returned to her family after giving everything she owned to her lover's family or to the poor. Her father and stepmother refused to receive her, and she went to Cortona to seek the aid of the Friars Minor. There she received refuge from two ladies, Marinana and Raneria, who took her and her son into their home and later introduced her to the Franciscans.
At first, Margaret earned her living by looking after children and nursing the ladies of the city. Later she devoted herself to prayer and the service of the poor, especially the sick. She was given a cottage where she lived with her son. When the Franciscans where convinced of her sincerity they admitted her to the third order of St. Francis. Her son was sent to school at Arezzo, and later joined the Franciscan Order.
Margaret devoted her energy to prayer and contemplation, and was drawn to a close mystical communion with Christ. She also engaged in severe acts of self-discipline and asceticism in penance for her sins. She wished at one time to disfigure her face with a razor, so as to reject her beauty, but her confessor forbade it.
For years Margaret spent her remaining energy in service to the poor. She founded a hospital, organized a confraternity of Franciscan Tertiaries to look after prisoners, and gave counsel to penitents who began to seek her as her fame for sanctity spread. In 1288, however, she retired to a retreat where she devoted herself entirely to contemplation. She remained there alone, except for the visits of her priest, until her death on February 2, 1297. She was acclaimed immediately as a saint, but was not officially canonized until 1728.
Feast Day: February 22
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