Blessed Margaret Colona was born in Rome in the 13th century; the exact date is unknown. Her parents died in Rome when she was still a young girl, and she was left to the care of her two brothers, the youngest of whom was raised to the cardinalate by Pope Nicholas III in 1278. Having resolutely refused the proposal of marriage made to her by the chief magistrate of Rome, she retired to a lonely retreat near Palestrina where she passed her time in practices of piety and penance. Her charity towards the poor was unbounded, and she was thought to be miraculously rewarded.