St Elizabeth of Hungary

Elizabeth’s short life was nonetheless full; she had a happy marriage and children, was a secular Franciscan, and was so devoted to the poor and sick that she gave away royal robes and founded hospitals.

The daughter of a Hungarian king, Elizabeth married a nobleman of Thuringia, Louis, at age 14.

He complained about the expense of her many charities until he witnessed a miracle involving Elizabeth, bread and roses.

After he died during a Crusade, she became a Third Order Franciscan at Marburg, Germany, where she founded a hospital to care for the sick.

Elizabeth, who was declared a saint in 1235, is the patron of bakers, young brides, widows, those falsely accused, countesses and secular Franciscans.

Text: Catholic News Service,
Image: The Charity of St. Elizabeth of Hungary by Edmund Leighton, 1915/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain