Saint of the Day: St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Queen and Franciscan Tertiary (1207-1231)

Her life

+ Elizabeth was the daughter of King Alexander II of Hungary. A pious child, she was married to King Ludwig of Thuringia when she was fourteen years old. 

+ Despite her rank and position, she led a simple life, practiced penance, and devoted herself to works of charity. Her husband encouraged her piety, and the couple had three children before Ludwig was killed in a crusade in 1227. 

+ After her husband’s death, Elizabeth left the royal court and arranged for the care of her children. On Good Friday, 1228, she became a Franciscan Tertiary. She later built a hospital in Marburg and dedicated herself to the care of the sick until her death at the age of twenty-four in 1231. 

+ Saint Elizabeth of Hungary was canonized in 1235 and is honored as one of the patron saints of the Franciscan Third Order. 

For prayer and reflection

“Fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
for nought is lacking to those who fear him.
The great grow poor and hungry;
but those who seek the LORD want for no good thing.”—Psalm 34:10-11

Spiritual bonus

On this day we also remember Saint Lazarus Zographos (“the Painter”). A monk in Constantinople and a gifted writer of icons, he defended the use of sacred images during the iconoclast controversy (which sought to forbid the use of sacred images). For the offense of restoring icons that had been defaced, he was imprisoned and tortured. After his release, he continued his ministry until his death in 867.

Prayer

O God, by whose gift Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
recognized and revered Christ in the poor,
grant, through her intercession,
that we may serve with unfailing charity
the needy and those afflicted.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)
Saint profiles prepared by Fr. Silas Henderson, S.D.S