Elizabeth of Hungary

Elizabeth of Hungary (German: Elisabeth, Hungarian: Erzsébet, Slovak: Alžbeta; 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Elisabeth of Thuringia, was a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary and the landgravine of Thuringia.

Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and widowed at 20. After her husband's death, she regained her dowry, using the money to build a hospital where she herself served the sick. She became a symbol of Christian charity after her death in 1231 at the age of 24 and was canonized on 25 May 1235. She is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. She was an early member of the Third Order of St. Francis, and is today honored as its patroness.

Quotes

• Here before my eyes is our sweet Saviour crowned with thorns. My crown would mock Him if I dared kneel at His feet bedecked with gold and jewels.
  • Schmidt-Pauli (tr. Olga Marx, 1932), p. 65

• The Lord came all the way from heaven to earth for us, so we can surely go the short distance from the castle to Eisenach for Him! ... We must not sadden God with sullen looks. Whatever we do, we must do gladly.
  • Schmidt-Pauli (tr. Olga Marx, 1932), p. 109

• The last request of Christ was that we should love one another as He loved us. But are we obeying Him, dear Brother? The moment we own anything we want to increase our possessions by depriving some one else. And if we are asked to share what we own, we are unwilling to part with it. We are made loveless by our possessions.
  • Schmidt-Pauli (tr. Olga Marx, 1932), p. 139

• We women were allowed to stand at the Cross. We saw His wounds bleed and His eyes grow dim. As He was dying Jesus put His faith in us, we were to carry His love through the whole world and here we sit and have forgotten Him.
  • Schmidt-Pauli (tr. Olga Marx, 1932), p. 174

About

• The ministering Saint, fresh from the poor of Christ.
  • Charles Kingsley, The Saint's Tragedy (1848), act 2, sc. 4 (Guta)

External links

• Elisabeth von Schmidt-Pauli (tr. Olga Marx) Saint Elizabeth, Sister of Saint Francis (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1932)
• Pope John Paul II (tr. Firman O'Sullivan) Prayers and Devotions (United States: Viking, 1994), p. 395