CrucisSt. Margaret Clitherow
St. Margaret Clitherow was born about 1556 in York, England, the daughter of a respected citizen, and married a prosperous butcher of the city. Some years after her marriage she converted to the Catholic faith, at a time when the practice of that faith was outlawed under Queen Elizabeth I and the harboring of priests was made a capital crime. Undeterred, she became a courageous protector of the persecuted Church.
She sheltered hunted priests in her home, maintained a secret room where Mass was celebrated, and saw to the Catholic education of children, all at the constant risk of her life. Arrested in 1586 and charged with harboring priests, she refused to plead so that no jury, and especially no child of her household, would be forced to testify and share her guilt. For this she was condemned to the terrible death of being pressed beneath heavy weights, which she suffered on 25 March 1586, forgiving her persecutors. Known as "the Pearl of York," she was canonized in 1970 among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Selected quotes
“A mother's faith, lived bravely, is the richest inheritance she leaves her children.”
“Bear suffering with courage, for the love of Christ is worth any price.”
“Refuse to betray the faith, even when silence would save your life.”