St. Margaret Clitherow

St. Margaret Clitherow/“Pearl of York” Born: 1556 Died: March 25, 1586 Beatified: December 15, 1929 by Pope Pius XI Canonized: October 25, 1970 by Pope Paul VI Patron: Patron: businesswomen, converts, martyrs Saint Margaret was born in 1556 in York, England to Thomas and Jane Middleton. Queen Elizabeth I was in power and she outlawed Catholicism in favor of the new Anglican Church; thus, Margaret was raised in the Protestant faith. Catholic Priests were considered traitors as well as anyone who helped to hide them. This was punishable by death. At age 18, Margaret married John Clitherow Together, they ran a butcher shop. John attended the Anglican Church. Three years later, missionary priests came to England to win souls back to the Catholic Faith. At age 21, Margaret was among the first to be converted by the missionaries. Margaret was well loved by neighbors. She converted others and brought former Catholics back to the true Faith. Margaret prayed daily, fasted four times a week, went to Confession frequently and Mass regularly. She helped to hide priests who were criminals under Elizabethan law. John and Margaret raised their two children Henry and Anne in the Catholic faith. Henry was sent to study at a Catholic school in France. Margaret hired a Catholic tutor for Anne and a neighboring boy. Priests secretly came to the home to give the Sacraments. John attended Anglican services but Margaret refused. She was fined and imprisoned several times for not attending Protestant services. Her third child William was born in prison. John paid her fines and bailed her out. Trying to subvert suspicion of his wife, John had agreed to report Catholic worshipers. Catholics were increasingly being arrested, tortured and put to death for harboring priests. Margaret was undeterred saying, “by God’s grace all priests shall be more welcome to me than ever they were, and I will do what I can to set forward God’s Catholic service.” When it became known that Henry was sent to Europe to study Catholicism, authorities searched the Clitherow home. They found a secret hiding place, but no priest. The neighbor who was tutored alongside Anne, told authorities under threat of violence where to find hidden vestments, religious vessels and books used for Holy Mass in the Clitherow home. Margaret was arrested. Asked if she pleaded guilty, Margaret refused to plead for fear her family would be called as witnesses and then tortured into condemning her. She was sentenced to death for refusing a trial. After the verdict, Margaret sent her shoes to her daughter Anne to remind her to follow in her faithful footsteps. St. Margaret’s execution was on Good Friday, March 25, 1586. At age 30, she was tied down on a sharp rock, a door was laid over her body, and weights were dropped on her until she crushed to death. In the 15 minutes it took before she died, she cried out, “Jesu! Jesu! Jesu! Have mercy on me!” She was the first woman to be martyred under Queen Elizabeth I. Inspired by her love of the Faith, St. Margaret’s three children went into the religious life. .

Load more