Margaretha of Louvain

Margaret of Louvain (also known as Fiere Margriet or Margaretha de Trotse (Dutch); Marguerite la Fière (French); 1207–1225) was a servant murdered by thieves. She is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church; her shrine is in St. Peter's Church in Louvain.

Life Margaret was a servant from Louvain, Duchy of Brabant (now Belgium). As a teenager, she worked at the inn belonging to her relatives, a certain Aubert and his wife, until they sold the establishment. The couple had planned to enter the religious life, with Margaret herself set on joining a Cistercian convent.

On their last night at the inn, Margaret was out when thieves broke in and murdered her employers. She returned as the assailants were leaving and saw what had happened; the thieves gave chase as she fled the scene. They eventually caught up with her along the banks of the Dyle River, where they killed her as well by slitting her throat.

Veneration Margaret's killers had initially thrown her corpse into the Dyle, but it was recovered and buried on the riverbank where she was killed. Miracles were later attributed to her at her tomb, and her remains were subsequently translated and reinterred in a chapel in the yard of Saint Peter's Church in the centre of town.

The cause for Margaret's beatification was formally opened on 8 June 1896, granting her the title of Servant of God. In 1905, Pope Pius X confirmed her cultus.

Margaret is a patron saint of domestic workers.

Scenes by Pieter Verhaghen

Pieter Verhaegen, an artist from Leuven, painted five scenes from Margaretha's life in 1765. These can be seen in her chapel in St. Peter's Church.