Bienheureuse Marguerite
de Savoie
Tiers-Ordre de Saint
Dominique (+ 1464)
Elle appartenait à la
famille royale de Savoie et sa vie spirituelle fut fortement marquée par la
prédication de saint Vincent Ferrier. Épouse du marquis de Montferrat, elle fut
une épouse attentive à l'égard de son mari et des enfants de son premier
mariage. Comme elle-même ne put avoir d'enfants, ce furent les pauvres qui le
devinrent par sa générosité.
Elle supportait avec
peine la magnificence de la vie de son époux, gouverneur de la république de
Gênes. Devenue veuve et régente, elle éleva, avec un grand souci de générosité,
son beau-fils jusqu'à sa majorité.
Critiquée comme une
dévote opiniâtre parce qu'elle ne voulait pas se remarier, elle supporta toutes
les calomnies et les insultes avec grande patience.
Elle entra dans le
Tiers-Ordre de Saint Dominique, guidée par saint Vincent Ferrier, se
dépouillant de toutes ses richesses.
Sa fête est inscrite au
24 juillet (avec son aïeule Louise): mémoire obligatoire dans les diocèses de
Chambéry, Maurienne et Tarentaise.
À Albe dans le Piémont,
en 1464, la bienheureuse Marguerite de Savoie, qui, devenue veuve, se retira
pour se consacrer à Dieu dans le monastère de moniales de l’Ordre des Prêcheurs
qu’elle avait fondé. (23 novembre)
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/9336/Bienheureuse-Marguerite-de-Savoie.html
Bienheureuse Marguerite
de Savoie
L'enfance de cette
princesse fut tout angélique; elle n'eut de cet âge que la petitesse,
l'innocence et la grâce. Obligée de sacrifier ses goûts pour la virginité aux
intérêts du bien public, elle brilla, dans le mariage, par toutes les vertus
qui font la sainte épouse, la pieuse mère, la parfaite maîtresse de maison, en
même temps que la princesse accomplie. Sa maison était réglée comme un
monastère, elle n'y souffrait ni le vice, ni les mauvaises habitudes, y faisait
faire la prière et veillait à ce que tous observassent fidèlement les devoirs
de la religion.
A la suite d'une
prédication de saint Vincent Ferrier, on la vit revêtir le cilice sous ses
habits d'or et de soie, et s'adonner à toutes les mortifications les plus
austères. Veuve, elle fit voeu de continence et s'adonna plus que jamais à tous
ses devoirs de femme et de princesse chrétienne. Dès qu'elle vit son fils
préparé au gouvernement, elle quitta la cour et foula aux pieds les couronnes
et les grandeurs de la terre.
Sur le conseil de saint Vincent
Ferrier, qui lui apparut, elle entra dans le Tiers Ordre de Saint-Dominique et
vécut, dans son palais d'Albe, en communauté avec nombre de personnes pieuses
qui voulurent se mettre sous sa conduite. Elle obtint, pour elle et pour ses
soeurs, la direction de l'hôpital de la ville, où elle se réservait toujours,
auprès des malades, les soins les plus répugnants à la nature. Marguerite fut
en butte aux persécutions et à la calomnie; c'est ainsi que Dieu voulut achever
d'enrichir sa couronne.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie
des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/bienheureuse_marguerite_de_savoie.html
Bienheureuse Marguerite
de Savoie
Princesse, veuve,
tertiaire de l'Ordre de saint Dominique
(1383-1464)
L'enfance de cette
princesse fut tout angélique ; elle n'eut de cet âge que la petitesse, l'innocence
et la grâce. Obligée de sacrifier ses goûts pour la virginité aux intérêts du
bien public, elle brilla, dans le mariage, par toutes les vertus qui font la
sainte épouse, la pieuse mère, la parfaite maîtresse de maison, en même temps
que la princesse accomplie. Sa maison était réglée comme un monastère, elle n'y
souffrait ni le vice, ni les mauvaises habitudes, y faisait faire la prière et
veillait à ce que tous observassent fidèlement les devoirs de la religion.
À la suite d'une
prédication de saint Vincent Ferrier, on la vit revêtir le cilice sous ses
habits d'or et de soie, et s'adonner à toutes les mortifications les plus
austères. Veuve, elle fit vœu de continence et s'adonna plus que jamais à tous
ses devoirs de femme et de princesse chrétienne. Dès qu'elle vit son fils
préparé au gouvernement, elle quitta la cour et foula aux pieds les couronnes
et les grandeurs de la terre.
Sur le conseil de saint
Vincent Ferrier, qui lui apparut, elle entra dans le Tiers Ordre de
Saint-Dominique et vécut, dans son palais d'Albe, en communauté avec nombre de
personnes pieuses qui voulurent se mettre sous sa conduite. Elle obtint, pour
elle et pour ses sœurs, la direction de l'hôpital de la ville, où elle se
réservait toujours, auprès des malades, les soins les plus répugnants à la
nature. Marguerite fut en butte aux persécutions et à la calomnie ; c'est ainsi
que Dieu voulut achever d'enrichir sa couronne.
Also
known as
Margarita
Margherita
Marguerite
24 July on
some calendars
Profile
Born to the nobility,
daughter of Amadeo of Savoy, Lord of Piedmont and titular Prince of
Achaea, and Catherine of Geneva. Married to
Theodore Paleologus, marquis of Montferrat on 17
January 1403. Widowed in 1418.
Declined a marriage offer
from Philip, Visconti of Milan.
Influenced by Saint Vincent
Ferrer, she became a Dominican tertiary.
In 1426 she
founded a house at Alba, Liguria and served as its Prioress.
In 1451,
25 years later, she received papal approval
for the congregation from Pope Eugene
IV. She was subject to visions and ecstasies,
and was a reputed miracle worker.
Her later years were spent under a cloud of controversy as her house faced
false charges of doctrinal irregularities, and she charges of being overly
strict with her nuns.
Born
21 June 1382 at Pignerol, Italy
23
November 1464 at Alba,
Piedmont, Italy of
natural causes
re-interred at her monastery in 1481
9
October 1669 by Pope Clement
IX (cultus
confirmed)
being given three arrows by
Christ
Additional
Information
Saints
and Saintly Dominicans, by Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie
Cormier, O.P.
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
Short
Lives of Dominican Saints
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
sites
en français
fonti
in italiano
God of holiness, you
taught Blessed Margaret to leave the royal court and to follow you in humility.
Following her example may we learn to cherish what is divine and to overcome
all adversities through love of your cross. We ask this through our Lord Jesus
Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. – General Calendar of the Order of
Preachers
MLA
Citation
“Blessed Margaret of
Savoy“. CatholicSaints.Info. 28 May 2022. Web. 2 May 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-margaret-of-savoy/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-margaret-of-savoy/
Saints
and Saintly Dominicans – 27 November
Blessed Margaret
of Savoy, Widow, Tertiary, O.P.
Margaret was born of
royal blood, and was daughter to Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy. She was married to
the Marquis of Montferrat, but losing him whilst still young, she made a vow of
chastity and refused to avail herself of the dispensation which the Holy See
offered her so that she might contract more advantageous and splendid
alliances. All her affections went out to the poor and the sick. But this life
of good exterior works did not satisfy her aspirations; she therefore built a
monastery where, being enclosed, she could give herself up more freely to
contemplation. Nothing there distinguished her from the others if it were not
her ardor for the practices of humility, her simplicity and obedience which
flourish in fervent houses. There happened to be in her monastery a giddy
novice who communicated her worldly spirit to the others. Not being able to
resolve to send her away, Margaret set herself to pray, and the young aspirant,
a true black sheep, went away of her own accord. Our Lord in a vision gave
Blessed Margaret the choice of three sharpened darts, symbolizing illnesses,
persecutions and calumnies. Her love of suffering soon and wisely decided her;
she accepted all three. Her entire obedience to her confessor is particularly
praised and her zeal in obtaining peace for the Church. (1464)
Prayer
Blessed Margaret obtain
for me forgetfulness of self and of my own interests.
Practice
Accept with simplicity
and promptness the crosses God sends you and be persuaded that they are better
than all those of your own choosing.
– taken from the
book Saints
and Saintly Dominicans, by Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie
Cormier, O.P.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-and-saintly-dominicans-27-november/
Short
Lives of the Dominican Saints – Blessed Margaret of Savoy, Widow
Article
(A.D. 1382-1464)
Blessed Margaret was the
daughter of Amadeus II, Prince of Piedmont, of the House of Savoy, and was born
about A.D. 1382. Her remarkable beauty and virtue caused her hand to be eagerly
sought by many illustrious suitors; it was granted about A.D. 1403 to the
Marquis of Montserrat, as a means of consolidating the peace which had recently
been made between the Italian princes. He was worthy of his saintly consort,
and acquired among his contemporaries the honourable title of Theodore the
Religious. Their life together exhibited a bright example of every virtue which
could adorn their lofty station. They were animated to yet greater fervour and
more munificent liberality to the Church and the poor by the preaching of Saint
Vincent Ferrer, under whose direction Blessed Margaret commenced the practice
of severe but secret austerity and of almost continual prayer.
Her husband dying in the
fifteenth year of their married life, Blessed Margaret immediately consecrated
herself to the King of Heaven by a vow of perpetual chastity, and retired into
private life in the city of Alba. Here she gave herself up entirely to
exercises of charity and devotion. The fame of her beauty and virtue induced
many princes, and amongst others Philip Visconti, Duke of Milan, to seek her in
marriage, but she firmly rejected all such overtures, assigning as her reason
the vow by which she had bound herself. The Duke of Milan, however, would take
no refusal; and, having obtained from the Pope an ample dispensation from the
vow, pressed his suit with renewed earnestness. Margaret was in no way affected
by these embassies, and replied with the same firmness as before that she
sought for no dispensation from her voluntary vow to be the Spouse of none but
God, and that she trusted in the Duke’s charity not further to disturb her
retirement. In order to assume a character which should effectually protect her
from all such solicitations for the future, she took the habit of the Third
Order, by the counsel of her former director, Saint Vincent, who, having now
departed to a better life, appeared to her in a vision to comfort and advise
her. Many noble ladies joined her in her retirement, and together they devoted
themselves to works of mercy and piety.
Blessed Margaret was soon
attacked by a painful malady, which almost shook her patience. But our Blessed
Lady visited her on her sick-bed to encourage her to resignation, and our Lord
Himself appeared to her, surrounded by a multitude of angels, holding in His
hand three darts inscribed with the words : Calumny, Sickness, and
Persecutions, bidding her choose amongst them. The servant of God abandoned
herself wholly to His Divine will, and He left her with all three, which she
received and lovingly embraced, as the vision vanished from her sight. Very soon
its fulfillment was seen in the accumulation of trials of each kind which
poured in upon her. The calumnies proceeded chiefly from the court of the Duke
of Milan, who accused her to the Pope of trying to revive the heresy of the
Waldenses. The only effect of these trials on Blessed Margaret was to increase
her desire to give herself wholly to God. She accordingly built a Convent at
Alba, dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalen, in which she and her companions made
their solemn profession, forming in all an enclosed Community of sixty, a
Dominican Father of the name of Manfred being appointed their Apostolic Vicar
and Superior, and Blessed Margaret herself becoming the first Prioress.
In this capacity it was
her earnest endeavour to preserve the true spirit of religious observance
amongst those committed to her care, and God gave her a wonderful insight into
the souls of her spiritual children. Thus, one Sister who had borne the
reputation of a Saint happening to die, the Community were in great grief and
loud in their expressions of admiration for the holiness of the deceased
religious. Blessed Margaret, however, put small trust in the appearance of
sanctity which had so successfully imposed upon others. She felt an inward
doubt even as to the salvation of this soul; and, as she was praying to God for
the discovery of the truth, the deceased sister appeared to her and declared
herself eternally lost, all her good works having been performed out of a
desire of human praise. Then, stooping to the ground, the miserable creature
took up a handful of dust which she threw into the air, exclaiming: “Such were
my actions!” and then disappeared.
Blessed Margaret worked
many miracles, curing the sick, multiplying the provisions of the Convent, and
calming by her prayers a horrible tempest which threatened to destroy the city
of Alba. When the storm ceased, the voices of the evil spirits were heard in
the air, cursing her by name for having frustrated their malignant designs. Two
days before her happy death, she desired the Sisters to lift her out of bed and
lay her prostrate on the ground at the feet of our Lord. They complied with her
desire, though they themselves could see nothing. Then the cell became radiant
with celestial light and a sweet harmony announced the presence of the angelic
choirs and of our Divine Lord Himself, whom Blessed Margaret adored with
expressions of the most ardent love. These heavenly harmonies were heard also
on the following day, which was the Feast of Saint Cecilia. As the dying
servant of God received the Last Sacraments, an unknown religious was observed
supporting her, who was believed to be Saint Catharine
of Siena. At her death, which took place on November 23, A.D. 1464, the bell
tolled of itself, and woke up the citizens of Alba, many of whom beheld a
resplendent procession of Saints, bearing lighted torches in their hands,
directing their steps towards the Convent. Many miracles ensued, and Blessed
Margaret was finally beatified by Clement X.
Prayer
O God, who didst teach
Blessed Margaret to forsake with all her heart the pomps of this world for the
humble following of Thy Cross, grant that, by her merits and example, we may
learn to tread under foot the perishable delights of the world, and in the
embraces of Thy Cross to overcome all adversities. Who livest and reignest
world without end. Amen.
MLA
Citation
A Sister of the
Congregation of Saint Catherine of Siena. “Blessed Margaret of Savoy,
Widow”. Short Lives of the Dominican Saints, 1901. CatholicSaints.Info.
10 November 2019. Web. 2 May 2025. <https://catholicsaints.info/short-lives-of-the-dominican-saints-blessed-margaret-of-savoy-widow/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/short-lives-of-the-dominican-saints-blessed-margaret-of-savoy-widow/
Blessed Margaret of Savoy
Marchioness of
Montferrat, born at Pignerol in 1382; died at Alba, 23 November, 1464. She was
the only daughter of Louis of Savoy, Prince of Achaia, and of Bonne,
daughter of Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy, and was given in
marriage in 1403 to Theodore, Marquis of Montferrat, a descendant of the Greek
emperors, the Palæologi, and widower of Jeanne, daughter of the duke of Bar and
of Lorraine. Her piety,
already great, increased after she had heard the preaching of St. Vincent
Ferrer, who spent several months in Montferrat. Therefore, when she was left
a widow in
1418, she decided to abandon the world. Leaving the direction of the affairs of
the marquisate to Jean-Jacques, the son of her husband by his first marriage,
she retired to Alba where she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic. A
little later, Philip Maria, duke of Milan, asked her hand in
marriage and begged the pope to relieve her
of her vow. But
Margaret opposed a formal refusal to this request and thoroughly resolved to
give herself entirely to God: with several
young women of
rank, she founded a monastery and
placed it under the rule of the order of St. Dominic.
Redoubling her mortifications she
made rapid progress in the way of perfection and died
in a saintly manner.
On 13 December, 1464, her remains were placed in a simple tomb; in 1481 they were
transferred to a different and much more beautiful sepulchre built in
her monastery at
the expense of William, Marquis of Montferrat.
Sources
ALLARIA, Storia
della B. Margherita di Savoia marchesa di Monteferrato (Alba, 1877);
BARESIANO, Vita della B. Margherita di Savoia, domenicana, principessa di
Piemonte (Turin 1638) BARISANO, Vita della B. Margherita di Savoia
Marchesa di Montferrato (Turin, 1692; ibid., 1892) CARRARA, Vita
civile e religiosa della B. Margherita di Savoisa marchesa di Montferrato (Turin.
1833); CODRETTO, Vita e miracolosi portenti della B. Margherita di Savoia (Turin,
1653) RECHAC, Les saintes de l'ordre de St. Dominique (Paris, 1635)
REYNAUD, Vie della B. Marguerite de Savoie de l'ordre de St. Dominique (Paris,
1674); SEMERIA, Vita della B. Margherita di Savoia (Turin, 1833).
Clugnet,
Léon. "Blessed Margaret of Savoy ." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1910. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09655b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Marjorie Bravo-Leerabhandh. Dedicated
to my grandmother, Margarita Tolosa.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09655b.htm
Blessed Margaret of
Savoy, OP Tert., Widow (AC)
Born at Pinerolo in 1382; died 1464; beatified in 1669. Margaret of Savoy,
daughter of Duke Amadeo II, is one of three royal princesses who wore the
Dominican habit and were beatified. In the 15th century, she was the glory of a
family that has given several beati to the Church.
Born into the royal house
of Savoy, Margaret grew up in a household in which piety and wealth were
ordinary. Her own parents died when she was small, and she was educated by an
uncle, who arranged an early marriage for her to the Marquis of Montferrat,
Theodore Paleologus.
As queen of her fairly
large domain, Margaret was the model of Christian rulers. She felt that it was
her duty to exceed in charity and humility in the proportion that she was
wealthier than those around her, and she devoted all of her time to God and to
her neighbors. Her husband was a widower with two children, to whom she gave
the greatest care. The hundreds of dependents on the large estates came to her
for charity and instruction.
Disaster stuck Savoy
several times in the years when she was wife and mother. Famine and plague
came, making great demands on her time and her courage. Unhesitatingly, she
went out to nurse the plague-stricken with her own hands, and she sent out food
and clothing from her husband's stores until it was doubtful if anything would
be left. After this crisis passed, war hovered over the kingdom, and she prayed
earnestly that they would be delivered from the horrors of invasion.
In 1418, the marquis
died. His young widow was one of the most eligible women in Europe. Margaret sorrowed
for her husband, but she made it clear to her relatives that they need not plan
another marriage for her, as she was going to enter a convent. In order to live
a life of complete renunciation, she decided to found a convent of her own at
Alba in Liguria that would follow the ancient rule of Saint Dominic.
Accordingly, she took over a cloister which had fallen into ruin, having only a
few poor inhabitants, and rebuilt it for Dominican use. She dedicated the
house to St. Mary Magdalen.
There is one very
delightful story told of her sojourn in the convent. When she had been there
many years, she one day had a young visitor; he was the son of one of her
step-children. Hunting nearby, he had killed a doe, and he brought her the
motherless fawn to tend. It was a pretty little animal, and it soon grew to be
a pet. The legends about the fawn have probably been exaggerated, as it was
supposed to be able to go and find any sister she would name, and, for several
years, the animal had free rein of the halls and cells of the sisters. Perhaps
it was true, though, since the house confessor told her that the deer must go.
She took it to the gate and told it to go. It fled into the forest, and
returned only when Margaret was about to die.
Margaret attained a high degree of contemplative prayer. One time Our Lord appeared to her and asked her whether she would rather suffer calumny, sickness, or persecution. Margaret generously accepted all three. Her offer was taken, and for the remaining years of her life she suffered intensely from all three sorrows (Dorcy). It should be noted that Saint Vincent Ferrer influenced Margaret to join the Dominican tertiaries (Benedictines).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1123.shtml
Blessed Margaret of
Savoy, Widow, O.P.
(Also known as Margarita
of Savoy; Margherita of Savoy; Marguerite of Savoy)
Feast Day: December 23rd
Profile
Margaret of Savoy,
daughter of Duke Amadeo II, is one of three royal princesses who wore the
Dominican habit and were beatified. In the 15th century, she was the glory of a
family that has given several beati to the Church.
Born into the royal house
of Savoy, Margaret grew up in a household in which piety and wealth were
ordinary. Her own parents died when she was small, and she was educated by an
uncle, who arranged an early marriage for her to the Marquis of Montferrat,
Theodore Paleologus.
As queen of her fairly
large domain, Margaret was the model of Christian rulers. She felt that it was
her duty to exceed in charity and humility in the proportion that she was
wealthier than those around her, and she devoted all of her time to God and to
her neighbors. Her husband was a widower with two children, to whom she gave
the greatest care. The hundreds of dependents on the large estates came to her
for charity and instruction.
Disaster stuck Savoy
several times in the years when she was wife and mother. Famine and plague
came, making great demands on her time and her courage. Unhesitatingly, she
went out to nurse the plague-stricken with her own hands, and she sent out food
and clothing from her husband's stores until it was doubtful if anything would
be left. After this crisis passed, war hovered over the kingdom, and she prayed
earnestly that they would be delivered from the horrors of invasion.
In 1418, the marquis
died. His young widow was one of the most eligible women in Europe. Margaret
sorrowed for her husband, but she made it clear to her relatives that they need
not plan another marriage for her, as she was going to enter a convent. In
order to live a life of complete renunciation, she decided to found a convent
of her own at Alba in Liguria that would follow the ancient rule of Saint Dominic.
Accordingly, she took over a cloister which had fallen into ruin, having only a
few poor inhabitants, and rebuilt it for Dominican use. She dedicated the house
to St. Mary Magdalen.
There is one very
delightful story told of her sojourn in the convent. When she had been there
many years, she one day had a young visitor; he was the son of one of her
step-children. Hunting nearby, he had killed a doe, and he brought her the
motherless fawn to tend. It was a pretty little animal, and it soon grew to be
a pet. One legend was that the fawn was able to go and find any sister
she would name, and, for several years, the animal had free rein of the halls
and cells of the sisters. Perhaps it was true, though, since the house
confessor told her that the deer must go. She took it to the gate and told it
to go. It fled into the forest, and returned only when Margaret was about to
die.
Margaret attained a high
degree of contemplative prayer. One time Our Lord appeared to her and asked her
whether she would rather suffer calumny, sickness, or persecution. Margaret
generously accepted all three. Her offer was taken, and for the remaining years
of her life she suffered intensely from all three sorrows (Dorcy). It should be
noted that Saint Vincent Ferrer influenced Margaret to join the Dominican
tertiaries (Benedictines).
Prayers/Commemorations
First Vespers:
Ant. Come, O my chosen
one, and I will place my throne in thee, for the King hath exceedingly desired
thy beauty
V. Pray for us, Blessed
Margaret .
R. That we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ
Lauds:
Ant. She hath opened the
hand to her needy, her palms she hath extended to the poor; fortitude and
beauty are her vesture, and she shall rejoice on the last day.
V. God hath chosen her,
and preferred her,
R. And he maketh her to
dwell in his tabernacle.
Second Vespers:
Ant. She has girded her
loins with courage and hath strengthened her arm: she hath tasted and seen ,
for her occupation is good: her lamp shall not be put out in the night.
V. Pray for us, Blessed
Margaret .
R. That we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ
Prayer
Let us Pray: O God, who didst teach Blessed Margaret to forsake with all her heart the pomps of the world for the humble following of Thy cross, Grant that by her merits and example we may learn to tread under foot the perishable delights of the world, and in the embrace of Thy cross to overcome all adversity. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
Beata Margherita di
Savoia Religiosa domenicana
Pinerolo, Torino, 1390 -
Alba, Cuneo, 23 novembre 1464
La beata Margherita di
Savoia è conosciuta con l'appellativo di «grande». Nata nel 1390 a Pinerolo
rimase presto senza genitori e passò insieme alla sorellina Matilde sotto la
tutela dello zio Ludovico, il quale, per mancanza di eredi, succedeva al
defunto principe Amedeo. Per risolvere le lunghe discordie tra il Piemonte e il
Monferrato lo zio la destinò in sposa al marchese di Monferrato. Lei accosentì,
nonostante, anche grazie alle parole di Vincenzo Ferrei, pensasse già al
chiostro. Alla morte del marito si ritirò nel palazzo di Alba, dove, con
l'approvazione di Papa Eugenio IV, nel 1441, fondò il monastero di Santa Maria
Maddalena. Vestito l'Abito del Terz'Ordine Domenicano, più tardi abbraccò la
Regola più austera delle Monache dell'Ordine. Morì nel 1464. (Avvenire)
Etimologia: Margherita =
perla, dal greco e latino
Emblema: Tre frecce,
Corona deposta
Martirologio Romano: Ad
Alba in Piemonte, beata Margherita di Savoia, che, rimasta vedova, si consacrò
a Dio nel monastero delle monache dell’Ordine dei Predicatori da lei fondato.
«A partire dal XVII secolo noi Europei siamo stati assillati dalla questione sull’identità. Chi sono? Qual è la mia identità come essere umano, come cristiano, come domenicano? E ci richiudiamo nelle nostre piccole identità che ci danno poca sicurezza. (…) Dal XVII secolo le nostre società hanno sviluppato l’orrore nei riguardi della folla. Nella folla, l’individuo perde la sua identità.
Nella folla noi non sappiamo chi siamo. La folla è pericolosa, come la folla della Rivoluzione Francese. Ma per noi, c’è una folla immensa, che nessuno può contare, la folla dei santi. Il nostro destino è appartenere a questa folla; è qui che noi saremo liberati da tutte le nostre piccole questioni d’identità, perché chi siamo è al di la di ciò che noi possiamo immaginare. E noi saremo liberi». Questo disse il domenicano Padre Timothy Radcliffe nell’omelia che tenne a Friburgo il 1° Novembre 1992.
Nella «folla dei santi» figura, fra i 29 beati domenicani, Margherita di Savoia, colei che piegò la volontà dell’antipapa Felice V e della quale quest’anno ricorrono i 550 anni dal suo dies natalis. Era imparentata con le principali famiglie reali d’Europa: suo padre era il conte Amedeo di Savoia-Acaja, mentre sua madre, Caterina di Ginevra, era una della sorelle dell’antipapa Clemente VII. Margherita si meritò l’appellativo di “Grande”: fu infatti testimone d’evangelica grandezza nei differenti stati in cui Dio la mise alla prova, come figlia, sposa, sovrana, monaca, mistica.
Nacque nel castello di Pinerolo (TO) nel 1382 (altri biografi, la minoranza, sostengono nel 1390). La sua vicenda iniziò poco dopo la morte di santa Caterina da Siena, in un periodo doloroso sia per le guerre continue tra i Signori del tempo, sia per lo sconvolgimento portato nella Chiesa dallo scisma d’Occidente. A 12 anni rimase orfana e passò sotto la tutela dello zio Ludovico, che per mancanza di eredi maschi diretti, succedette al defunto Principe Amedeo.
Primo pensiero di Ludovico di Savoia fu di porre fine alle lunghe discordie fra Piemonte e Monferrato servendosi della nipote Margherita: da decenni il territorio subalpino era sconvolto per il suo possesso dalle guerre tra i Savoia, i marchesi di Saluzzo, i marchesi del Monferrato ed i Visconti di Milano, la giovane principessa sarebbe stata una speranza di pace. Ella, in cuor suo, già era orientata al chiostro, riconfermata nel suo proposito dallo spagnolo domenicano san Vicent Ferrer; tuttavia si sacrificò per il bene delle popolazioni, stremate per le guerre e le carestie.
Così, appena tredicenne, per ragioni di Stato, si unì in matrimonio, nel 1403, con Teodoro II Paleologo, marchese del Monferrato. Il marito aveva 39 anni e già due figli. Margherita, il cui primo pensiero fu sempre e solo rivolto a Dio, accettò di sacrificarsi per amore del Signore e per amore del suo prossimo: se Cristo era stato crocefisso anche le sue aspirazioni potevano essere crocefisse.
Nei quindici anni di matrimonio si prodigò per smussare le angolosità dello scontroso marito, si dedicò all’educazione dei figliastri e con eroica carità soccorse poveri, malati, appestati. Rimase vedova nel 1418 e divenne sovrana reggente del Monferrato, stimata e amata.
Terminato il suo compito, si ritirò nel suo palazzo di Alba (CN) insieme alle sue più fedeli dame per dedicarsi alla preghiera e alle opere di carità, rifiutando perciò la proposta di nozze avanzata da Filippo Maria Visconti. Dapprima divenne terziaria domenicana, poi fondò il monastero delle domenicane di Santa Maria Maddalena. E un giorno ebbe una visione: Cristo le porgeva tre frecce, recanti ciascuna una scritta: malattia, calunnia, persecuzione, che realmente subirà.
Le tre frecce, che attraversano il suo stemma nobiliare, ricordano che solo la croce accettata con Cristo conferisce alla persona la vera, imperitura nobiltà, che i secoli non possono cancellare.
Nonostante le molteplici difficoltà e sofferenze, per circa venticinque anni superò tutto con la preghiera, lo studio, la carità. Formidabile fu il ruolo che assunse di riappacificazione unitiva nella Chiesa: si prodigò con successo affinché suo cugino Amedeo VIII, eletto antipapa dal Concilio di Basilea con il nome di Felice V, recedesse dalla sua posizione. Tornò pertanto a guidare l’Ordine Mauriziano da lui fondato nel monastero sulle rive del lago di Ginevra e fu creato Cardinale, nonché legato pontificio. Morì in fama di santità ed oggi riposa nella Cappella della Sindone di Torino.
Margherita di Savoia si spense ad Alba il 23 novembre 1464, circondata dall’affetto e dalla venerazione. San Pio V, già religioso domenicano e priore del convento di Alba, nel 1566 permise per Margherita un culto locale riservato al suo monastero, mentre Papa Clemente IX la beatificò nel 1669. Il suo corpo incorrotto è oggetto di ininterrotta devozione.
L’insegnamento di san Domenico, che Margherita fece suo, è sintetizzato nella
nota formula di un altro gigante domenicano, san Tommaso d’Aquino: «contemplari
et contemplata aliis tradere»: contemplare, attingere la verità nell’ascolto e
nella comunione con Dio, donando agli altri il frutto della propria
contemplazione.
Autore: Cristina Siccardi
La Beata Margherita di Savoia, da non confondere assolutamente con l’omonima regina d’Italia vissuta ben cinque secoli dopo, era imparentata con le principali famiglie reali d’Europa: suo padre era il conte Amedeo di Savoia-Acaja, mentre sua madre era una della sorelle di quel Clemente VII che durante il Grande Scisma si dichiarò papa ad Avignone. Margherita si meritò addirittura l’appellativo di “Grande”. Fu infatti testimone d’evangelica grandezza nei differenti stati in cui Dio la mise alla prova: di figlia, di sposa, di sovrana ed infine di religiosa.
Nata a Pinerolo tra il 1382 ed il 1390, sin dalla sua giovinezza fu l’immagine del candore ed una precoce saggezza le fece aborrire tutto ciò che invece il mondo è solito amare. Rimasta ben presto orfana, passò con la sorellina Matilde sotto la tutela dello zio Ludovico, che per mancanza di eredi maschi diretti succedette al defunto Principe Amedeo. Primo pensiero di Ludovico di Savoia fu di porre fine alle lunghe discordie intercorse tra Piemonte e Monferrato e da ambe le parti non si guardò che a Margherita come a pegno sicuro di pace duratura. Da decenni, infatti, il Piemonte era sconvolto per il suo possesso dalle guerre tra i Savoia, i marchesi di Saluzzo, i marchesi del Monferrato ed i Visconti di Milano. La giovane principessa, che in cuor suo già era orientata al chiostro, riconfermata ancora di più nel suo proposito da San Vincenzo Ferreri, a quel tempo predicatore in terra piemontese.
Con cuore assai generoso Margherita sacrificò i suoi più cari ideali per il bene comune e la pace fra le due zone del Piemonte, divenendo dunque sposa nel 1403 del Marchese di Monferrato, Teodoro II Paleologo, molto più anziano di lei. Nessun miraggio terreno riuscì però a sedurre la giovane marchesa, che iniziò la nuova vita di sovrana con i piedi per terra ma con il cuore fisso in cielo, atteggiamento tipico del cristiano. Dopo essere stata la saggia consigliera di suo marito e madre tenerissima dei sudditi, rimase vedova nel 1418.
Governò allora il marchesato in prima persona quale reggente, sino alla maggiore età del figliastro Giovanni. Si ritirò poi nel palazzo di Alba di sua proprietà insieme alle sue più fedeli damigelle, per dedicarsi ad opere di carità, rifiutando la proposta di matrimonio avanzatale da Filippo Maria Visconti. Divenne terziaria domenicana e fondò poi una congregazione, prima di terziarie e poi nel 1441, con l’approvazione di Papa Eugenio IV, di monache. Nacque così il Monastero di Santa Maria Maddalena in Alba. La nuova vita religiosa religiosa di Margherita non fu però esente da travagli e difficoltà. Un giorno ebbe una visione di Cristo, che le porse tre frecce recanti ciascuna una scritta: malattia, calunnia e persecuzione. Infatti nel periodo seguente ebbe a patire tutti e tre i tormenti indicati.
Afflitta da una salute assai cagionevole, fu accusata d’ipocrisia, poi di tirannia nei confronti delle consorelle. Inoltre un pretendente da lei respinto sparse in giro la voce che il monastero fosse un centro ove si propugnava l’eresia dei valdesi. Il frate che era loro guida spirituale fu arrestato e, quando Margherita giunse al castello per chiederne il rilascio, il portone le fu chiuso violentemente in faccia, fratturandole anche una mano. Nonostante tutte queste difficoltà, per circa venticinque anni condusse una vita ritirata di preghiera, studio e carità. La Biblioteca Reale di Torino conserva un volume contenente le lettere di Santa Caterina da Siena, copiate e rilegate “per ordine della nostra illustre signora, Margherita di Savoia, marchesa del Monferrato”.
Proprio ad imitazione della santa Dottore della Chiesa, che durante la cattività avignonese si era spesa anima e corpo per il ritorno a Roma del pontefice, Margherita si adoperò intensamente affinchè suo cugino Amedeo VIII, primo duca di Savoia, eletto antipapa con il nome di Felice V dal Concilio di Basilea, recedesse dalla sua posizione. Così avvenne: Felice V abdicò e repose la tiara, riconoscendo come unico capo della Chiesa il papa allora legittimamente regnante a Roma. Tornato dunque ad essere Amedeo di Savoia, continuò a guidare l’Ordine Mauriziano da lui fondato nel monastero sulle rive del lago di Ginevra ed il Papa lo ricompensò per aver ricomposto l’unità della Chiesa nominandolo cardinale e legato pontificio per gli stati sabaudi e dintorni. Il Cardinale Amedeo morì poi in fama di santità ed ancora oggi riposa nella Cappella della Sindone, adiacente alla cattedrale torinese.
Tornando invece a Margherita ed al suo monastero di clausura, degno di nota è ancora un misterioso avvenimento la cui prova documentaria è stata resa pubblica solo nell’anno 2000: nell’ormai lontano 16 ottobre 1454, circondata da tutte le sue consorelle e dal confessore padre Bellini, agonizzava una suora. Presente anche la superiora e fondatrice del convento, la Beata Margherita appunt, durante questa triste circostanza si verificò il fatto straordinario di cui recitano così i documenti: “Avvenne la visione profetica avuta e riferita agli astanti in punto di morte dall’agonizzante Suor Filippina alla quale Nostra Signora Santissima, Santa Caterina da Siena, il Beato Umberto di Savoia e l’Abate Guglielmo di Savoia, predissero avvenimenti prosperi e funesti per la Casa di Savoia, fino ad un tempo futuro imprecisato di terribili guerre, di esilio in Portogallo di un altro Umberto di Savoia e di un mostro proveniente dall’Oriente con grande sofferenza per l’Umanità, mostro che sarà però distrutto da Nostra Signora del Santo Rosario di Fatima se tutti gli esseri umani la invocheranno con grande contrizione”. Ogni lettore non sprovveduto potrà ben scorgere fra queste righe delle allusioni ai tragigi avvenimenti del XX secolo ed al messaggio poi trasmesso anche dalla Madonna nelle apparizioni di Fatima. Questa Suor Filippina era in realtà una cugina di Margherita, dunque di sangue sabaudo, sfuggita ad una congiura contro la sua famiglia. La sua vicenda sarebbe però assai lunga complessa e snaturerebbe l’oggetto della presente.
Margherita di Savoia morì ad Alba il 23 novembre 1464, circondata dall’affetto e dalla venerazione delle sue figlie spirituali. Il pontefice piemontese San Pio V, già religioso domenicano e priore del convento di Alba, nel 1566 permise per Margherita di Savoia un culto locale riservato al Monastero di Alba, mentre Papa Clemente IX la beatificò solennemente il 9 ottobre 1669, fissandone la memoria al 27 novembre per tutto l’Ordine Domenicano, oggi celebrata anche da alcune diocesi piemontesi. Il Martyrologium Romanum la festeggia invece al 23 novembre, anniversario della nascita al cielo della beata. Il suo corpo incorrotto è ancor oggi oggetto di venerazione nella chiesa di Santa Maria Maddalena ad Alba, anche dopo il trasferimento definitivo nel monastero in una nuova sede avvenuto nel 1956.
Margherita di Savoia, grande ed attiva figura femminile nel Piemonte del suo
tempo, fautrice di pace e di concordia fra le varie zone della regione,
meriterebbe a pieno titolo di essere onorata, accanto al protovescovo
vercellese Sant’Eusebio, quale celeste patrona del Piemonte, nonchè la
canonizzazione affinchè si possa universalmente guardare a lei quale virtuoso
modello di sposa, di madre, di sovrana e di religiosa.
PREGHIERA
O Dio, che hai chiesto alla Beata Margherita di Savoia
di rinunciare alle ricchezze del mondo
per vivere la povertà evangelica,
concedici di seguire da vicino Cristo povero
per essere arricchiti della sua grazia e della sua gloria.
Egli è Dio e vive e regna con Te,
nell’unità dello Spirito Santo,
per tutti i secoli dei secoli. Amen.
Autore: Fabio Arduino
Note: Per informazioni e richiesta di immagini:
Monache Domenicane "Beata Margherita di Savoia"
Strada Serre 10 - 12051 Alba (CN)
Tel. 0173440182
Mail: priora@monasterodomenicane.it
