Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, was born in the year 1207 to King Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Merania. When she was just six years old, her view on life and faith drastically deepened because of the murder of her mother. The young Elizabeth turned to prayer to find peace in her heart. At the same time, she was betrothed early on to Ludwig IV of Thuringia from German nobility. At the age of fourteen, Saint Elizabeth formally married Ludwig and their marriage brought back happiness in her life. She truly loved her husband and together, they had three children, two of whom became noblemen while the other one became abbess of a German convent.
Saint Elizabeth lead a very charitable and prayerful life. She was known for spinning wool for the poor. She used her position as a royalty to help so many poor families, distributing breads to them everyday and giving out royal clothing, while living a simple life herself and practicing penance. It is why she’s considered as patron saint of bakers and beggars. Her husband Ludwig was very supportive of her charity as he himself believed that helping the poor would bring eternal reward. Her life was hit with so much sadness again when Ludwig died of sickness in 1227. Saint Elizabeth vowed to spend the rest of her life in prayer and service to God by joining the Third Order of Saint Francis. She then built a hospital in honor of Saint Francis where she personally cared and ministered for the poor and the sick. She died at the age of twenty-four on 17 November 1231.
A famously known miracle, miracle of the roses, happened when Saint Elizabeth was still alive. In one of her countless trips to secretly deliver breads to the poor, her husband Ludwig met with her to ask her and clarify suspicions of the royal court that she was actually stealing treasures from their castle. Ludwig wanted to see the contents of her cloak and as she opened her cloak, a sight of white and red roses could be seen. This vision proved to Ludwig and strengthened his faith that God’s protection was guiding their acts of charity. Such story explains why Saint Elizabeth’s icon normally depicts her with breads and roses in her cloak. After her death, various miracles were reported and attributed to Saint Elizabeth. Carefully examining the healing miracles, Pope Gregory IX canonized her as a saint four years later.
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for us!
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