She was buried alongside Malcolm in Dunfermline Abbey and the reported
miracles that took place in and around her tomb supported her canonization
in 1250 by Pope Innocent IV.
During the Reformation St. Margaret’s head somehow passed into the
possession of Mary Queen of Scots, and was later secured by the Jesuits at
Douai, where it is believed to have been destroyed during the French
Revolution.
The feast of St. Margaret was formerly observed by the Roman Catholic
Church on 10 June but is now celebrated each year on the anniversary of
her death, 16 November.
30 November St Andrew
No list of Saints commemorated in November could be complete without our
own St Andrew and, although Brigitte has referred to him before, this comes
from a somewhat different angle.
Actually, to use the term “our own” suggests a degree of exclusivity to which
we are not really entitled.
Scotland shares the patronage of St Andrew with a long and varied list which
also includes:
Barbados, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, Sicily, Greece, Romania, Burgundy,
San Andres (Tenerife), The Diocese of Paranogue (The Philippines),
Telhado (Portugal), Amalfi. Luqa (Malta) and Prussia!
In terms of professions, he covers fishermen, fishmongers and rope-makers,
textile workers, singers, miners, pregnant women, butchers, farm workers
and offers protection against sore throats, convulsions, fever and whooping
cough.
As Saints go, that’s quite a job description!
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