In the Middle Ages, Hungary was invaded by the Mongol armies, who left extreme devastation in their wake. The king at the time was Béla IV, who prayed to God to deliver Hungary from the Mongols. In his prayers, he even offered his daughter Margaret to God as appeasement.
The Mongols retreated from Hungary that very year.
Keeping his promise, the king sent his daughter to the Dominican convent in Veszprém. The walls of this convent are still visible in Veszprém today. In the picturesque Séd valley, under Benedict Hill, you can still clearly see the walls of what was once St Catherine’s Monastery, where Margaret spent part of her childhood.
Later, as an adult, Margaret herself re-confirmed her offering to God for the sake of the country. She reminded her father of his original vow, when he wished to marry her to her suitor, King Ottokar II of Bohemia. Although she died young, at the age of 28, her canonisation process began immediately after her death. Beatified for centuries with papal approval, Margaret was finally canonised by Pope Pius XII in 1943.
