The Life of Blessed Margaret of Castello, 1287-1320

Blessed Margaret of Castello lived a life which was unbelievably hard! She was sealed off in a little stone house deep in the woods by her parents because she was born a cripple and blind. Her nurse failed to observe her instructions from Margarets' parents one day. That was ... to keep the child away from us in our quarters of the castle. A visitor saw her, and, talked to her. The secret was out, and, her parents were enraged. Her father was 'Captain of the People' in a Papal state, a high position. He would not even had the child baptized if it were not for that. Father Bonniwell has researched a treasure for us in this our time which we cannot call 'the time of the child'. When they took her for a 'cure' , on one of the rare occasions her parents had anything to do with her, the cure did not happen, and they abandoned her to the elements, leaving her outside in the winter, saying her prayers in the snow. They had toldher to pray for a cure. She actually loved them.Despite all this, she endured. The Priest from the Castle had instructed her secretly for her Catechism, and, the parents allowed the Mass and Sacraments. She loved God from the time she was a tiny girl, never knowing any different. The entire story can't be told here. Her life was filled with miraculous happenings. She said she saw God at Mass. They thought she meant spiritually, but, the blind girl saw Him.,as testified to by her priest, and, as it is in the records after a lengthy investigation. At Margaret's funeral, a little girl who was a deformedcripple, touched her hand. She was cured instantly. This is the perfect little model child FOR OUR TIMES when it is fashionable to kill little babies. This book presents the beauty which comes forth to edify humanity from a life which is as burdened by afflictions as little Margarets. Father Bonniwell has researched the records of Castello and some of the people living there today remember his questions. There is a great foreword from Father Charles Fiore. May perpetual light shine upon Father Fiore and Father Bonniwell !!

Margaret lived The sermon on the Mount. She exemplified a life of returning good for evil and overcoming enmity with love and forgiveness. She sets the bar high in not giving in to self-pity or discouragement.

This is Quite read.....a BEAUTIFUL read....such loss and tragedy and hatred....basically she was thrown away, walled in for some 13 years....THIRTEEN years literally....humped back, blind, ugly...her parents did not want her but she loved them anyway..EVEN after they abandoned all alone without anything but the clothes on her back in a strange city......she had huge things to overcome..but NOW she is a saint...a sweet, intelligent girl...who only knew (or rather CHOSE) to love....a genuine love for Christ and for all around her...

A wonderfully told biography of this heroic little Saint. The book reads like a novel. The book us hard to put down!

The Life of Blessed Margaret of Castello is an eye opening life I do not envy but wish I had to courage to live. Her parents because of her deformed appearance at birth had her locked in a cell which over looked a Church. Everyday she would pray and GOD would be her only solace. Then, as if that wasn't cruel enough her parents brought her to another city and then abandoned her there as a little girl. She was told to go and explore the city. She did and at nightfall began calling out.."Mommy...Daddy?" But they were long gone and she was all alone. It breaks my heart just to type that :-( Blessed Margaret of Castello lived a life of exemplary GRACES. She was hideous to look at--(Her words not mine) but her Soul shinned like the sun. IF you want to read something that will uplift you, tug at your heart, and cheer for a underdog of epic proportions then I highly recommend this book.I have a HUGE library of Christian Saints as JESUS CHRIST is my Lord and Savior, of my entire collection, this is one of my prized possessions. I look forward to the day when I can meet Blessed Margaret of Castello in Heaven.

It's a small book but very interesting.

This is a real story about a woman in the Middle Ages, who was midget, ugly, with one leg longer than the other and blind. She was rejected by her wealthy and famous parents, put in prison at a young age and when she was twenty, abandoned at Castello. She never held a grudge against her parents and lived in the streets meeting the beggars and the poor. She gave her life to God and loved Him deeply. God gave her joy and she was always gentle and kind to everyone. Her prayers were always answered and those who helped her were blessed. She is the saint of the unwanted, of the rejected in the world, of the unborn children.

Awesome book!!! She was just canonized this April. What a testimony for today's society. A must read!!

I fell in love with Saint Margaret of Castello. She has been canonized since the book has been written. The research was very thorough. The style is very clear.

I highly recommend this beautifully written work of Fr Bonneville on the life of Blessed Margaret of Costello. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, in fact I couldn't put it down!

My mother loved it . It was a gift.