Jesus." She also established an order devoted to Our Lady of Mercy and the members bound themselves to support the hospital and to help the needy. On several occasions, Margaret participated in public affairs. Twice, claiming divine command, she challenged the Bishop of Arezzo, Guglielmo Ubertini Pazzi, in whose diocese Cortona lay, because he lived and warred like a prince. She moved to the ruined church of Basil of Caesarea, now Santa Margherita, and spent her remaining years there; she died on 22 February 1297. Veneration After her death, the Church of Santa Margherita in Cortona was rebuilt in her honor. Her body, found to be incorrupt even after 400 years, is preserved in a silver casket inside the church. Margaret was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on 16 May 1728. Margaret of Cortona is honored with a Lesser Feast on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America on 22 February. In art Paintings depicting Margaret have been completed by Giovanni Lanfranco (1622) and Gaspare Traversi (c. 1758). In 1938, the Italian composer Licinio Refice wrote his second opera, Margherita da Cortona based on the life of the Margaret, with libretto by Emidio Mucci. A 1950 biographical film, Margaret of Cortona, by Mario Bonnard featured Maria Frau as Margaret. See also List of Catholic saints Saint Margaret of Cortona, patron saint archive References External links Sanctuary of Saint Margaret of Cortona 1247 births 1297 deaths People from Castiglione del Lago Italian Roman Catholic saints 13th-century Christian saints Members of the Third Order of Saint Francis Franciscan saints Incorrupt saints Female saints of medieval Italy 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Anglican saints Canonizations by Pope Benedict XIII Venerated Catholics