Margaret of Cortona (1247-97)

Daughter of an Italian farmer.
Her mother died when Margaret was seven.
Her father remarried and her stepmother was unsympathetic.
She ran away to be a mistress to a young nobleman.
She bore him a son and lived in great luxury.
9 years after she went to live with him he was murdered.
She decided to change her life.
She made a public confession of her sins at a Church where she sought the aid of the Friars Minor.
But her father refused to take her back in the home.
She and her son were taken in by two ladies.
She became a Franciscan tertiary and had three years of despair and forced on herself too many penances and mortifications (her priest spiritual advisors worked constantly to moderate her away from such self imposed harshness).
She had a brief period as a recluse.
She then started to devote herself to the care of the sick and the poor.
She began to see visions of Christ.
She started acting as a peacemaker, even among prelates.
She received approval from a Bishop to form a religious community to care for the sick poor.
She founded a hospital and a confraternity to support it.
Vicious gossips accused her of improper relationships with the friars.
She was transferred to Siena until it was proved the vicious gossip was lies.
Her holiness soon became apparent to all.
She converted many sinners.
She was sought after by people from all over Italy, France, and Spain for her spiritual advice and her healing powers.
When she died she was acclaimed a saint at once.