During this month of November, as we draw nearer to the celebration of Thanksgiving, we have an opportunity to acknowledge the good gifts and the many blessings that our God has bestowed on us. This is also a time to reflect upon how we can give back to God. One of the best ways we can give back to God is by helping those in need. During this month of November, we will celebrate the memorial of a great saint who serves as an inspiration for anyone engaged in charitable activities.
Nov. 17 is the Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who was born in 1207 in Bratislava, which is in the present-day Slovak Republic bordering both Austria and Hungary. From a very young age, St. Elizabeth showed an inclination to serve those who suffered and were in need.
At age 14, she married Ludwig, landgrave (prince) of Thuringia. Theirs was a happy and loving marriage, and they had three children. Under the spiritual direction of a Franciscan friar, she led a life of prayer and sacrifice and dedicated herself to service to the poor and sick. She freely chose a life of penance and asceticism over a life of leisure and luxury.
At times her generosity was criticized by others as extravagant. For example, when a famine hit the part of the German lands where Thuringia is located, St. Elizabeth used all her available funds and distributed her whole store of grain to help those most affected. Ludwig was quick to defend her actions, telling the people of his household that her acts of charity would bring about divine blessings.
Their castle at Wartburg was built on a steep hill, and St. Elizabeth had a hospital built at the bottom of the hill where she would often be found making beds and feeding patients. She wore simple clothing to identify more closely with the poor, and daily she would serve bread to the poorest in the land who came to her gate. She cared for the sick, provided clothing to those in need, paid the debts of the poor, and arranged for the burial of the dead. Ludwig lovingly supported her in her activities.
In 1227, Ludwig joined the forces of Emperor Frederick II on a new Crusade. However, he never reached the Holy Land. In Otranto, Ludwig contracted the plague and died.
When news of her husband’s death reached St. Elizabeth, she was heartbroken, and for a while was unable to contain her grief. For days she wandered the castle weeping uncontrollably.
Further difficulties ensued for St. Elizabeth and her family. Ludwig’s family looked upon her charitable efforts unfavorably. Rather than appreciating her generosity to the poor, they believed her to be squandering the royal purse, and they drove her and her children from the palace. She was reinstated, though, upon the return of her husband’s allies from the Crusades.
Soon thereafter, she made provisions for her children, gave up her possessions, and, in 1228, joined the Third Order of St. Francis. She took up residence in a small house just outside of Marburg built to her specifications with a hospice attached and spent her remaining years caring for the sick and the destitute. She was revered by all as a saint.
A Magyar nobleman visiting Marburg asked to be directed to St. Elizabeth’s residence. He was shocked to see her seated at a spinning wheel in the hospice wearing a plain grey dress. He tried to convince her to return with him to her father’s house, but she refused. She explained to him that her children, her husband’s grave and the poor she served were all in Thuringia, and that she intended to stay there for the rest of her life.
St. Elizabeth worked unceasingly with the poor, and despite ill health, continued to practice a life of austerity. St. Elizabeth died Nov. 17, 1231, at age 24. Her body was buried in the hospice chapel. People began to pray for her intercession, and miracles began to be reported. She was canonized in 1235, a little less than four years after her death.
St. Elizabeth dedicated her life to caring for the poor and the sick and became a model of charity. She has long been seen as a patroness of those engaged in charitable works. Because of her saintly life and her care for those in need, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has chosen to name a permanent endowment for serving the needy across southeastern Wisconsin as the “St. Elizabeth of Hungary Fund.”
St. Elizabeth’s great love for God gave her the wisdom to find God in everything, especially in the poor, the sick and the needy. As we pray for her intercession, we ask that we be inspired to follow her example of generosity and care for those who struggle in life.
