What’s that she’s doing? Oh, just calmly hammering the devil’s head in.
Even when it’s uncomplicated, pregnancy is no walk in the park. And childbirth? Childbirth is miraculous and rewarding, and totally worth it, but it’s also a little bit terrifying. Luckily for us, we have about the most hardcore patron saint imaginable, and she’s more than up to the challenge.
Meet St. Margaret of Antioch, known in the east as St. Marina:
What’s that she’s doing? Oh, just calmly hammering the devil’s head in, no big deal. (Zoom in, and yes, that is blood coming out of his eyeballs.) Jesus seems to be cheering her on.
St. Margaret is one of those saints whose story is so wrapped up in legend that the hagiographies start including disclaimers — like, how the part about the devil disguised as a dragon swallowing her whole was probably more of a metaphor than a historical occurrence. In some stories, she makes the sign of the cross as he’s about to gulp her down, and he disappears on the spot. In my favorite version, the crucifix she’s holding when he swallows her irritates his belly, and breaks him open from the inside.
She doesn’t seem terribly impressed. “Oh honey,” she is saying, “I can’t believe you actually thought that was going to work.” The devil is looking like he regrets choosing that particular course of action.