Saint Margaret of Antioch was the patron of childbirth and pregnant women. Margaret resided in Antioch in Pisidia, where she is believed to be the daughter of a pagan priest.
A cloud of mystery surrounds her life. Her mother died shortly after her birth and Margaret was placed under the care of a Christian nurse who had her baptized. Although her father was a pagan priest, she was raised by the nurse as a devout Christian. When Margaret returned home, she was disowned by her father for her faith. The nurse adopted Margaret and she became a shepherdess, also completing servile tasks.
Saint Margaret consecrated her virginity to God. When she refused to marry a prefect, Olybrius, under the reign of Diocletian he accused her of being a Christian. Saint Margaret wouldn’t renounce the true God and worship the gods of the empire. So, she was repeatedly tortured—first by scourging, then placed on the rack, and ripped with iron combs. According to a legend, when Saint Margaret was imprisoned a devil appeared to her in the form of a dragon. He swallowed her but the Cross in her hand hurt his throat, so he spewed her out.
The next day, Saint Margaret was tortured by fire, but did not die. Then, they bound her and threw her into a vat of icy water to increase her pain, but she remained unscathed. Suddenly, there was an earthquake and she was freed. Upon witnessing this, many of those gathered converted to Christianity. She was beheaded around the year 275.
Saint Margaret is the patroness of childbirth, backaches, and deliverance from demonic possession. During the Middle Ages, she was among the most famous saints, and one of the voices that Saint Joan of Arc heard. As one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, her intercession has been invoked throughout the centuries against diseases, including the Black Plague. The Fourteen Holy Helpers were martyrs whose assistance is proven especially in hardships and tribulations.