Saint Margaret of Hungary : the Saint of penance, service to and love of the homeland : 20th century interpretations of Saint Margaret

The process of canonisation of Saint Margaret of Hungary lasted 700 years. It began immediately after her death (18 January 1270) but it was not until 23 July 1943 that it was successfully concluded. What was the secret of the success of the procedure in the 20th century? It was due in part to the well prepared and developed cult in Hungary that won the backing of the whole of Catholic society and actors in political life, supported by the achievements of scholarship (history, art history, literary studies, archaeology) and by works of the arts (literature, painting, sculpture). People in the 20th century saw parallels in the historical context: Margaret lived in 13th century Hungary when the country destroyed by the Mongol invasion (1241-1242) had to be rebuilt, while after the defeat in the 1st World War the country dismembered by the Treaty of Trianon had to be rebuilt. This called for a spiritual revival, and the figure and life of Margaret served as a good example for that. She became the saint of penance, service to and love of the homeland. However, her well prepared and structured cult that found links to current social problems was unable to flourish because a few months after the celebration of her canonisation the front of the Second World War reached Hungary, followed by the Soviet occupation and then, from 1948, by communism. The impetus with which the cult was being built faltered and was broken. Margaret’s canonisation was successful in the first half of the 20th century because the example of her life had meaning for the time