Margaret of Cortona: Patron Saint of the Unheralded Healthcare Worker
Who cares for and hears the prayers of the nameless caregivers, the people who toil without recognition, adequate pay, or impressive job titles to provide loving, attentive care to the ill and homebound? Mark Winiarski, who recently earned a Certificate in Franciscan Theology at the Franciscan School of Theology, suggests that Margaret of Cortona is a worthy candidate to be the patron saint of these healthcare workers, as she has walked in their shoes.
Gaspare Traversi, Saint Margaret of Cortona, Italian, c. 1758, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Click here to learn how St. Margaret tended to the needs of the ill indigent residents of Cortona with mercy and recognition of their inherent dignity.
Main image: Estasi di santa Margherita (detail), Jacopo Alessandro Calvi, Italian, 18th century, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Commission on the Franciscan Intellectual-Spiritual Tradition
CFIT
The Commission on the Franciscan Intellectual-Spiritual Tradition (CFIT) was established in 2001 by the English-Speaking Conference of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM) to promote a contemporary retrieval of the distinctive theological and spiritual vision that animates the Franciscan movement.