Ritratto della Beata Margherita Colonna, XVII Secolo, immagine scansionata dal libro I Colonna Sintesi storico Illustrativa
Bienheureuse Marguerite
Colonna
Ermite
clarisse (+ 1284)
Elle fut très tôt
orpheline et son éducation fut confiée à ses frères qui acceptèrent qu'elle ne
se marie pas et se consacre à Dieu. Elle resta ainsi quelque temps dans la
maison familiale, mais elle supportait mal les fastueuses réceptions et les
fêtes brillantes. Lorsqu'elle eut atteint sa majorité, elle entra en possession
de sa fortune, la distribua aux pauvres et s'en alla frapper au monastère des
clarisses d'Assise. Sa santé ne lui permit pas d'y rester. Elle retourna dans
une solitude(*) qu'elle avait acquise près de Rome et la fille de la riche
famille des Colonna devint mendiante pour les pauvres. Soutenue, par la suite, grâce
à l'un de ses frères devenu prêtre et cardinal, elle supporta avec grande
patience sept années de grandes souffrances causées par un terrible ulcère,
marquée ainsi en sa chair par la passion du Christ.
(*) solitude=ermitage
À Castel San Pietro près
de Palestrina dans le Latium, en 1282, la bienheureuse Marguerite Colonna,
vierge, qui préféra aux richesses et aux plaisirs du siècle la pauvreté pour le
Christ et le servit en faisant profession de la Règle de sainte Claire.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/9817/Bienheureuse-Marguerite-Colonna.html
MARGHERITA COLONNA
RELIGIEUSE, BIENHEUREUSE
1255-1284
La bienheureuse
Margherita (Marguerite) naquit à Palestrina en 1255, fille de Oddone (Odon)
Colonna et de Mabilia Orsini, qui eurent deux autresenfants : Giovanni e
Giacomo (Jean et Jacques). Elle appartenait donc à deux familles romaines
puissantes qui, pendant plusieurs siècles, marquèrent l’histoire de la Ville
Eternelle par des phases successives de paix et de haine réciproque. Palestrina
était la place-forte de la famille. La richesse des nobles romains était liée
aux pontifes et aux charges ecclésiastiques : en ce qui concerne les Colonna au
temps de la Bienheureuse, il suffit de citer Giovanni (Jean), cardinal de
Sainte-Praxède en 1212 et légat du pape pendant la cinquième Croisade. C’est ce
dernier qui rapporta à Rome la colonne qui, selon la tradition, servit pour la
flagellation du Christ et qui, encore aujourd’hui, est conservée dans la
basilique romaine dont il était titulaire. Les années où vécut Margherita
furent pour l’Eglise des années difficiles et agitées : de 1268 à 1271, le
siège papal fut vacant, ce qui ne s’était jamais vu aussi longtemps dans
l’histoire. Cela faisait vingt années que le pape n’habitait plus à Rome. Des
conclaves interminables, des pontificats très brefs : le pouvoir du pontife, si
fondamental pour l’équilibre du monde chrétien, subissait l’antagonisme entre
la France (car Charles d’Anjou occupait beaucoup de régions d’Italie) et le
Saint Empire Romain Germanique.
Très tôt, Margherita et
ses deux frères furent orphelins. Tandis qu’on la destinait à un mariage
prestigieux, important pour les alliances nobiliaires, elle n’avait au
contraire qu’une préférence dans son cœur, demeurer l’épouse virginale de
Jésus-Christ. Le 6 mars 1273, avec deux dames pieuses de sa maison, elle se
retira à Castel San Pietro (Château-Saint-Pierre), une colline qui domine
Palestrina, près de l’église de Santa Maria della Costa
(Sainte-Marie-du-Littoral), pour suivre sa vocation sur la trace du mouvement
franciscain. François d’Assise était mort depuis quarante-sept ans, Claire
depuis seulement vingt ans : leur idéal de vie fascinait un grand nombre de
personnes de tout rang social.
Margherita reçut la rude
bure, sous laquelle elle mit un cilice. Elle commença des jeûnes et des
pénitences, priant pour que se réalisât son désir : devenir clarisse. Elle
vécut donc là, retirée, pendant quelques années. Pour la puissante famille
Colonna, cette vie d’anachorète était un véritable scandale. Le réconfort
arriva cependant grâce à son frère Giacomo, lequel, quoique très jeune, était
déjà cardinal (depuis 1278) par volonté du pape Nicolas III (dans le monde
Giovanni Gaetano Orsini - Jean Gaétan Orsini), tandis que Giovanni était
sénateur à Rome. Bien qu’il fût revêtu de son titre uniquement en raison de son
appartenance à une famille importante, comme cela était habituel en ces
temps-là, Giacomo éprouvait un amour sincère pour le Christ. Il conduisit
Margherita à Rome, et tous deux prièrent ensemble sur la tombe des Apôtres
Pierre et Paul.
C’est ainsi que
Margherita commença une nouvelle vie. Elle ne disposait plus de l’héritage
familial si abondant : elle avait désormais la Pauvreté, qui ne manque jamais
sur la route des Saints. Son exemple lumineux suscitait un grand intérêt,
surtout parmi d’autres dames désireuses comme elle de mettre leur vie au
service de Jésus-Christ. Elle demanda au Supérieur Général des Frères Mineurs,
Girolamo (Jérôme) Masci, le futur pape Nicolas IV, qu’il lui permît d’entrer au
Monastère d’Assise. Une maladie l’en empêcha : autres étaient les voies du
Seigneur. Sa pensée alla ensuite vers le Couvent de la Mentola (qui se trouvait
entre Palestrina et Tivoli, où l’on vénérait une image de la Très Sainte Vierge
à laquelle elle était très dévote et où saint François aussi s’était rendu).
Mais ce couvent dépendait du Comte de Poli, qui ne voyait pas d’un bon œil une
fille Colonna arriver dans ses territoires.
Elle retourna donc à la
maison et, avec l’aide de son frère cardinal, fonda un monastère sur la
montagne voisine : là, pauvrement, de jour comme de nuit, on louait et l’on
priait le Seigneur. Margherita s’occupa de la formation de ses compagnes, mais
sa charité alla bien au-delà, touchant aussi les malades et les pauvres
alentour. Chaque année, à la Saint-Jean-Baptiste - dont elle était très dévote
- elle organisait un repas pour eux. La tradition rapporte qu’un jour Jésus et
Jean-Baptiste se présentèrent à sa table, mais qu’ils disparurent quand
Margherita les reconnut. Quand elle eut épuisé son important patrimoine
personnel, elle qui était née dans l’opulence tendit la main pour demander l’aumône
et pouvoir ainsi continuer ses œuvres. Entre autres, on se souvient de son
assistance aux Frères Mineurs du couvent de Zagarolo, à un moment de grave
nécessité.
Son union avec le Christ
devint de plus en plus intense : elle reçut de façon visible le réconfort de
Jésus, de Sa Mère et de saint François. Elle eut plusieurs extases et supporta
patiemment pendant sept années une blessure ulcéreuse au côté, qu’elle
considéra comme une marque de la Passion de Jésus. Elle n’avait pas trente ans
à sa mort, une mort qui fut précieuse aux yeux du Seigneur. Elle rendit
l’esprit, à la suite de son ulcère et de violents accès de fièvre, le 30
décembre 1284.
Immédiatement son tombeau
devint un lieu de pèlerinages, et des grâces étaient obtenues par son
intercession. En 1285 le pape Honorius IV donna l’autorisation à la communauté
de Clarisses de se transférer à Rome, dans le monastère de
Saint-Silvestre-in-Capite, où celles-ci transportèrent le corps vénéré de la
Bienheureuse (il y restera jusqu’en 1871). Sa biographie fut écrite par son
frère et la première abbesse de Saint-Silvestre.
Le 17 septembre 1847, le
pape Pie IX confirma le culte “ab immemorabili” (de temps immémorial) ainsi que
la mémoire liturgique le 17 décembre. Quelques années plus tôt, le pape Grégoire
XVI avait établi que seules les familles Colonna et Orsini eussent le privilège
exclusif de Princes assistants au trône pontifical.
Aujourd’hui, les reliques
de la bienheureuse Margherita sont vénérées dans l’église de Castel San Pietro,
proche de Palestrina. Là, la semence qu’elle jeta en terre il y a plus de sept
siècles, continue de fleurir encore aujourd’hui, grâce aux Clarisses du
monastère de Sainte-Marie-des-Anges.
Le Martyrologe Romain la
mentionne le 30 décembre, son “dies natalis” (le jour de sa mort, qui est le
jour de sa naissance au ciel).
SOURCE : http://nouvl.evangelisation.free.fr/margherita_colonna.htm
Santa
Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome
Also
known as
Margaret of Cortona
Margarita
Margherita
Marguerite
Profile
Daughter of Prince Odo Colonna of Palestrina, Italy.
Her parents died when
Margaret was young, and she had to care for her two brothers, the youngest of
whom grew to be Cardinal James
Colonna in 1278.
Having refused a marriage offer
by the chief magistrate of Rome,
Margaret retired from the world, and turned the family castle near Palestrina into
a retreat where she passed her time in piety and penance. Noted for charity to
the poor,
which was more than once miraculously rewarded.
Through the influence of her brother the cardinal,
Margaret obtained papal approval
for a community of Urbanist Poor
Clares at her castle, where she became superioress. Suffered her last
seven years from a terribly painful ulcer,
which she used as a chance to demonstrate resignation. After her death,
her community move to the convent of
San Silvestro in Capite in Rome, Italy,
from where they were driven to the convent of
Santa Cecilia in Trastevere in Rome.
Born
c.1255 at Palestrina, Rome, Italy
30
December 1284 at
Castel San Pietro, Rome, Italy of
natural causes
relics at
the convent of
Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome
17
September 1847 by Pope Pius
IX (cultus
confirmed)
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Catholic
Encylopedia, by Stephen Donovan
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
sites
en français
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Blessed Margaret
Colonna“. CatholicSaints.Info. 3 October 2022. Web. 14 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-margaret-colonna/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-margaret-colonna/
Book of Saints –
Margaret Colonna
Article
(Blessed)
Virgin (December
30) (13th
century) A Roman maiden of the princely house of Colonna, assiduous in the
nursing of the sick poor, and venerated even before her death on account of her
gift of contemplative prayer and of the innocence of her life. She died A.D.
1284.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Margaret Colonna”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
22 November 2014. Web. 14 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-margaret-colonna/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-margaret-colonna/
Blessed Margaret Colonna,
Poor Clare V (AC)
Died 1284; cultus
confirmed in 1847. Margaret was the daughter of Prince Odo Colonna of
Palestrina. Inspired, as was her brother James, by the Franciscans, she became
a Poor Clare and he was a cardinal. Margaret turned her family castle on the
mountainside above Palestrina into a convent, for which her cardinal brother
adapted a mitigated Franciscan Rule (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1230.shtml
Blessed Margaret Colonna
Poor Clare, born in Rome, date uncertain;
died there, 20 September, 1284. Her parents died
in Rome when
she was still a young girl, and she was left to the care of her two brothers,
the youngest of whom was raised to the cardinalate by Nicholas
III in 1278. Having resolutely refused the proposal of marriage made
to her by the chief magistrate of Rome,
she retired to a lonely retreat near Palestrina where
she passed her time in practices of piety and
penance. Her charity towards the poor was
unbounded, and was more than once miraculously rewarded.
Through the influence of her brother, Cardinal Colonna, Blessed Margaret
obtained the canonical
erection of a community of Urbanist Poor
Clares at Palestrina,
of which she most probably became superioress. Seven years before her death she
was attacked with a fearful and painful ulcer which till the end of her life
she bore with the most sublime and generous resignation. After the death of
Blessed Margaret, the community of Palestrina was
transferred to the convent of
San Silvestro in Capite. The nuns were
driven from their cloister by
the Italian Government at the time of the suppression; and the monastery has
since been used as the central post-office of Rome.
The exiled religious found shelter in the convent of
Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, to which place the body of Blessed Margaret was
removed.
Donovan,
Stephen. "Blessed Margaret Colonna." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 3 Oct.
2020 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09652c.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Paul T. Crowley. Dedicated to
the Monastery of the Chicago Poor Clares.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09652c.htm
Blessed Margaret Colonna
(Bl Marguerite Colonna)
Feast Day – December 30
A member of the princely
Roman family of the Colonna, Margaret was born in Rome, the capital of
Christendom, in 1210. Very early in life she lost both her parents. She was
then placed under the guardianship of her two brothers, John and James. When
she had grown to womanhood, her older brother insisted that she enter a
brilliant marriage. But Margaret, whose name signifies pearl, held her
virginity in such high regard that she was willing to sacrifice all the glamour
of the world in order to retain it. She firmly refused to yield to her
brother’s plan, declaring that she would be espoused to none other than the
immortal Spouse of souls. Her younger brother championed her resolution.
With two maids, Margaret
withdrew to a quiet country house belonging to her family and situated in the
mountains near Palestrina. There the group devoted themselves to practices of
piety and penance, as well as to works of charity. They wore coarse garments,
similar to those of the Poor Clares, and mapped out their daily routine as far
as possible according to the strict rule of that order.
In her new life,
Margaret’s relatives caused her many trials and annoyances. But she considered
them as marks of the love of her Divine Bridegroom seeking in this way to
disengage her heart from the world, so that she might belong to Him alone. And
Christ our Lord actually appeared to her at this time and placed a crown of
lilies on her head and a ring upon her finger.
In order to secure the
merit of obedience, Blessed Margaret Colonna and her companions meant to join
the Poor Clares of Assisi, who had already offered to receive them. But a
grievous illness attacked Margaret and prevented her plan. Somewhat restored to
health, she consulted her younger brother James in Rome, who had meanwhile
become a priest and cardinal. At his suggestion, and with the approval of Pope
Urban IV, Margaret turned the country house on the quiet mountain near
Palestrina into a Poor Clare convent where she and several like-mined young
women observed the rule of St. Clare as well as her continued infirmity
permitted it. Almighty God rewarded her pious zeal with many consolations.
Also favors of another
kind were not wanting. Our Lord gave her an opportunity to taste a little of
the sufferings H had endured. A wound opened in her right side and kept growing
wider and deeper, causing her untold suffering during the last seven years of
her life. She thanked God for this favor up to the last day of her life. When
that day came, she said before receiving Holy Viaticum:
“I thank Thee, dear Lord,
for having permitted my body to become weak and infirm, so that I could the
more freely return my soul to Thee.”
Assisted in her last
moments by her brother James, and the prayers of her sisters, Blessed Margaret
Colonna surrendered her soul into the hands of God on December 30, 1284.
Later, when the convent
of Palestrina was transferred to Rome the sisters took with them the precious
remains of their mother and foundress Blessed Margaret Colonna and had them
entombed in their new convent of St. Sylvester. Innumerable miracles occurred
at the grave of this holy virgin. In 1847 Pope Pius IX gave renewed approval to
the veneration paid to her for centuries.
From: Franciscan
Book of Saints by Marion Habig, OFM
SOURCE : https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/blessed-margaret-colonna.html
Blessed
Margaret Colonna of the Second Order
Article
“When thou shalt arrive
thus far, that tribulation becomes sweet and savory to thee for the love of
Christ, then think that it is well with thee for thou hast found a paradise
upon earth. Nothing is more acceptable to God, nothing more wholesome for thee
in this world than to suffer willingly for Christ.” These words of Thomas a
Kempis we see fully verified in the life of Blessed Margaret Colonna, the
patroness of this month.
Margaret was born in
Rome, of the noble house of Colonna, in the first half of the thirteenth
century. While still very young, she lost her parents and was placed under the
guardianship of her two brothers. Under their loving care, the excellent
qualities of her mind and heart developed and matured, so that, when she had
grown to maidenhood, she was admired by all for her accomplishments and for her
solid piety. Though she was surrounded by the comforts and pleasures which the
wealth of her noble family could afford her, her heart, far from being
captivated by them, was turned to heavenly things and she resolved to give
herself entirely to the service of God.
This her pious resolve
was, however, not to be carried out without meeting with great opposition on
the part of her family. The first magistrate of Rome, attracted by her piety
and accomplishments, asked her hand in marriage, and he was aided in his suit
by her elder brother, who did everything in his power to induce Margaret to
enter into so honorable a union. The thoughts and aspirations of the servant of
God, however, were not of this world, and she steadily declared that she would
have no other spouse than Jesus Christ. Her determination brought down upon her
the displeasure of her relatives, and. they, in their anger, used even threats
and ill-treatment to shake her resolve. In this severe trial, Margaret
recommended herself most fervently to the Mother of God. Our Lady appeared to
her and consoled and strengthened her with the words, “Be steadfast, and you
shall enjoy my protection.” Margaret also found an able champion in her younger
brother, who greatly admired her virtues, especially since he had seen her on
one occasion during Mass raised from the ground while rapt in prayer. He
continually helped her with his advice and encouraged her to persevere in her
resolve.
Margaret was favored with
several other visions of the Blessed Virgin. These aroused in her a great
distaste for the world, and she began to give herself up to the practice of
silence, prayer, and the most rigorous mortification. In order to separate
herself entirely from the distractions of the world, she retired, with two of
her maids, to a villa of her family on a hill which rises above the town of
Palestrina. Here she cut off her hair and put on a poor habit like that worn by
the daughters of Saint Clare, and with her companions spent her time in
contemplation and in the practice of the severest self-denial. Her relatives
were highly displeased at her retired and penitential mode of life, and tried
every means to induce her to return to Rome. But their efforts were in vain.
God rewarded the generous sacrifices of his servant with signal graces and
favors.
Saint Francis appeared to
her and gave her a red cross. In an ecstacy of love for the Divine Savior, she
clasped it with great fervor to her heart, and it impressed itself deeply in
her chest. One day, while she knelt in prayer, our Divine Savior appeared to
her and placed a crown of lilies on her head. On another occasion, he placed a
ring on her finger in token of her heavenly nuptials.
But it was not enough for
Margaret to imitate in some degree the life of the daughters of Saint Clare,
she wished to pass the rest of her life in the practice of humility, obedience,
poverty, and mortification in a convent of the Order. She applied to the
Minister General of the Order of the Friars Minor and asked to be admitted,
with her companions, into the convent of the Poor Clares at Assisi. Her request
was granted, but a serious illness prevented her from carrying out her
intention.
As soon as she was
somewhat restored to health. Margaret went to Rome to visit the tombs of the
Apostles. She stayed for a while with’ a pious lady who observed the Rule of
Saint Clare in her home, and then returned to Palestrina with the intention of
founding a convent of Poor Clares. Her younger brother James, who in the
meantime had been made a Cardinal of Holy Church, informed the Sovereign
Pontiff of the wish of his holy sister, and begged permission to erect
canonically the community at Palestrina under the rule of Saint Clare. The Pope
acceded to this request, and thus the community was joined to the Second Order,
observing the Rule of Saint Clare as modified by Pope Urban IV.
Margaret’s ardent longing
was now fulfilled, and as a daughter of Saint Clare she strove with renewed
fervor to progress on the way of perfection. In spite of her feeble health, she
observed the Rule with the greatest exactness and exercised herself in the
continual practice of humility and self-denial. Extraordinary consolations and
graces were granted her by God as a reward of her generous love. And as God
tests and purifies his servants in the fire of tribulations and sufferings, he
now, as a special mark of his favor, sent her new sufferings, which were to
remain with her to the end of her life. Our Divine Savior appeared to her,
nailed to the cross and full of pain. Margaret who had long craved for the
happiness of experiencing in her own body the sufferings of the Savior, knelt
and adored him and lovingly touched his wounds, The desire of her heart was to
be satisfied. An ulcer attacked her right side and ate into the flesh. She
experienced excruciating pains in all parts of her body, but she never ceased
to bless the Lord for his mercy toward her. “Beg God,” she said to her
companions, “not to lighten my sufferings, but rather to cut and burn here
below, so that I may not be confounded for ever.”
For seven years Margaret
lived thus a victim of love. When her last hour approached, she said, before
receiving the Viaticum, “I thank thee, oh God, for having made my body so weak
and feeble, that I might more freely return my spirit to thee.” Consoled by
visions of our Lord and his Blessed Mother, and assisted by the prayers of her
brother, Cardinal Colonna, and of her spiritual daughters, she passed to her
eternal reward on December 30, 1284. Her body was first entombed at Palestrina.
When the community was transferred to the convent of Saint Sylvester in Rome,
the Sisters took with them the precious remains of their saintly Mother and
placed them in their church. At the time of the last suppression and
confiscation of convents by the Italian government, the body of Blessed
Margaret was removed to the convent of Saint Cecilia in Rome.
MLA
Citation
Franciscan
Herald, December 1916. CatholicSaints.Info.
4 October 2022. Web. 14 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-margaret-colonna-of-the-second-order/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-margaret-colonna-of-the-second-order/
Beata Margherita Colonna Vergine
Palestrina, 1255 - 30
dicembre 1284
Martirologio
Romano: Presso Palestrina nel Lazio, beata Margherita Colonna, vergine,
che preferì alle ricchezze e ai piaceri del mondo la povertà per Cristo, che
ella servì professando la regola di santa Chiara.
La Beata Margherita
nacque a Palestrina nel 1255, figlia di Oddone Colonna e Mabilia Orsini che
ebbero altri due figli: Giovanni e Giacomo. Apparteneva dunque a due potenti
famiglie romane, protagoniste, nel corso dei secoli, con fasi alterne di pace e
di odio reciproco, della storia della città eterna. Palestrina era la
roccaforte di famiglia. La ricchezza dei nobili romani era legata ai pontefici
e alle cariche ecclesiastiche: per i Colonna dei tempi della Beata basti citare
Giovanni, Cardinale di S. Prassede nel 1212 e legato del pontefice durante la V
Crociata. Fu lui che portò a Roma dall’oriente la colonna che, secondo la
tradizione, servì per la flagellazione di Cristo e che, ancora oggi, è
conservata nella basilica romana di cui era titolare. Gli anni in cui visse
Margherita furono per la Chiesa complicati e tumultuosi: dal 1268 al 1271 la
sede papale rimase vacante, per il periodo più lungo della storia. Erano venti
anni che il papa non risiedeva a Roma. A conclavi lunghi seguivano pontificati
brevi: il potere del pontefice era fondamentale per gli equilibri del mondo
cristiano e soggetto all’antagonismo tra la Francia (Carlo d’Angiò occupava molte
regioni d’Italia) e l’Imperatore tedesco del Sacro Romano Impero.
Margherita e i due
fratelli rimasero presto orfani. Destinata ad un matrimonio prestigioso,
importante per le alleanze nobiliari, in cuor suo, invece, voleva solo essere
sposa verginale di Gesù. Il 6 marzo 1273, con due pie donne di casa, si ritirò
a Castel San Pietro, sul monte che sovrasta Palestrina, presso la chiesa di S.
Maria della Costa, per seguire la sua vocazione sulla scia del movimento
francescano. Francesco era morto da quarantasette anni, Chiara da solo venti:
il loro ideale di vita affascinava una moltitudine di persone di ogni ceto
sociale. Margherita indossò il rude saio, sotto il quale mise un cilicio.
Iniziò digiuni e penitenze, pregando che si realizzasse il suo desiderio:
diventare clarissa. Visse lì qualche anno in ritiro. La sua vita da anacoreta
era, per la potente famiglia Colonna, uno scandalo. Il conforto arrivò però dal
fratello Giacomo che, sebbene giovanissimo, era già cardinale (dal 1278) per
volere di Papa Nicolò III (Giovanni Gaetano Orsini), mentre Giovanni era
Senatore di Roma. Giacomo, nonostante fosse stato insignito del titolo solo
perché membro di una famiglia importante, come purtroppo era consuetudine a
quei tempi, amava sinceramente Cristo. Condusse Margherita a Roma e insieme
pregarono sulla tomba degli Apostoli Pietro e Paolo. Iniziò per Margherita una
nuova vita. La sostanziosa eredità ormai non le apparteneva più, era dei poveri
che mai mancano sulla strada dei santi. Il suo esempio luminoso destava
interesse, soprattutto da parte di altre donne desiderose di spendere come lei
la loro esistenza al servizio di Gesù. Chiese al Generale dei Frati Minori
Girolamo Masci (futuro Papa Nicolò IV) il permesso di entrare nel Monastero di
Assisi. Lo impedì però una malattia: diversi erano i piani del
Signore. Pensò allora al Convento della Mentola (tra Palestrina e Tivoli)
dove era venerata un’immagine della Vergine Santissima di cui era molto devota,
luogo visitato anche da S. Francesco. Era però feudo del Conte di Poli che mal
vedeva una Colonna nei suoi territori. Fece ritorno allora a casa e, con
l’aiuto del fratello cardinale, fondò un monastero sulla vicina montagna, dove,
poveramente, si lodava e si pregava, notte e giorno, il Signore. Margherita si
occupò della formazione delle compagne, ma la sua carità andò oltre, rivolta
anche agli ammalati e ai poveri dei paesi vicini. Per loro, ogni anno, per la
festività di San Giovanni Battista di cui era molto devota, organizzava un
pranzo. La tradizione dice che una volta Gesù e il Battista si presentarono
alla sua mensa, ma poi scomparvero quando Margherita li riconobbe. Esaurito il
consistente patrimonio personale, lei, nata ricchissima, allungò la mano per
chiedere l’elemosina e poter così continuare le sue opere. Tra l’altro si
ricorda l’assistenza prestata, in un momento di particolare necessità, ai frati
minori del convento di Zagarolo.
La sua unione con Cristo
divenne sempre più intensa: fu confortata visibilmente da Gesù, dalla Madonna e
dal Santo Padre Francesco. Cadde più volte in estasi e per sette anni sopportò
pazientemente una ferita ulcerosa sul fianco, portata come una stimmata della
Passione di Gesù. Neppure trentenne la sua morte era preziosa agli occhi del
Signore. Spirò, a causa dell’ulcera e di febbri violente, il 30 dicembre 1284.
Immediatamente il suo sepolcro divenne meta di pellegrinaggi e i devoti, per
sua intercessione, ottenevano grazie. Con l’autorizzazione di Papa Onorio IV,
nel 1285, la comunità di clarisse si trasferì a Roma nel Monastero di S.
Silvestro in Capite, portando con sé il venerato corpo della Beata (vi resterà
fino al 1871). I suoi primi biografi furono il fratello e la prima badessa di
S. Silvestro.
Il 17 settembre 1847 Papa
Pio IX confermò il culto “ab immemorabili” e la memoria liturgica al 17
dicembre. Qualche anno prima Papa Gregorio XVI aveva stabilito che i Colonna e
gli Orsini erano le uniche due famiglie col privilegio esclusivo di Principi
assistenti al soglio pontificio.
Oggi le reliquie della
Beata Margherita sono venerate nella chiesa di Castel San Pietro, poco distante
da Palestrina. Qui il seme da lei gettato, oltre sette secoli fa, è ancora oggi
vivo attraverso le Clarisse del Monastero di Santa Maria degli Angeli.
Il Martyrologium Romanum
la ricorda il 30 dicembre.
PREGHIERA
O Dio, che hai reso
ammirevole nel disprezzo dei beni terreni
la Beata Vergine
Margherita, ardente d’amore per Te,
concedi a noi, per sua
intercessione,
di essere continuamente
uniti a Te
solo mentre portiamo la
croce.
Effondi su di noi, o
Signore,
lo spirito di santità che
hai donato alla Beata Margherita Colonna,
perché possiamo conoscere
l’amore del Cristo,
che supera ogni
conoscenza,
e godere la pienezza
della vita divina.
Per Cristo Nostro
Signore.
Amen.
Autore: Daniele
Bolognini
