Elizabeth of Hungary

Biography

Elizabeth. From the age of 4 she was declared the bride of Prince Ludovico of Thuringia. At such a tender age she left her homeland and was handed over to the custody of her future mother-in-law, Princess Sofia. She was the daughter of the king of Hungary and was born in the year 1207. A characteristic of little Elizabeth was her love for the Blessed Jesus, before Whom she frequently prostrated herself in the chapel of Wartburg Castle. Since she was a child, she also used to take her playmates to pray in the chapel; He distributed his snack among the poor children and did not want to wear a crown of pearls seeing Jesus with thorns. At the age of 15 she married the prince, who was then 21 years old. This marriage was immensely happy, but unfortunately it lasted only a short time. After six years of marriage, the husband joined the knights of a crusade to rescue the Holy Land from the power of the Muslims, and died as a result of a malignant fever that he contracted in the year 1227. Isabel, with her three small children, received the news of her husband's death and cried sadly. Ludovico, together with his wife, had purified the feudal atmosphere of their territory and had done justice to the poor peasants exploited by the nobles. By leaving everything for the love of the poor Christ, he fulfilled the Gospel to the letter. Her confessor, certainly well-intentioned, wanted to lead her along the path of extraordinary obedience, to an intimate friendship with Christ, to the example of Saint Francis and Saint Clare. Likewise, he confirmed Isabel's heroic charity. Once he was asked how to give alms if he had no money, and he answered: "We always have two eyes to see the poor, two ears to listen to them, one tongue to console them and ask for them, two hands to help them and one heart to love them." And she practiced what she advised. Isabel had an extraordinarily compassionate heart. He felt firsthand not only the sufferings of Christ, but also those of every exploited, marginalized, sick and immersed human being in the detestable misery of those times. Love and penitence had exhausted her in her youth. She was 24 years old when the Lord took her to Paradise, in the year 1231. Four years later St. Elizabeth was canonized by Gregory IX.