Elizabeth is shown here as wearing her jeweled crown but in reality she refused to wear it remembering that our Lord wore a crown of thorns. Instead of rich robes, she wore clothes made of course untreated wool. The loaf of bread in her hand represent her charity toward the poor. The story is told that "once when she was taking food to the poor and sick, Prince Louis stopped her and looked under her mantle to see what she was carrying; the food had been miraculously changed to roses". (Patron Saints Index: Saint Elizabeth of Hungary)

Elizabeth was born in 1207 to King Andrew II of Hungary and his wife Gertrude. From the age of two she was promised to the oldest son of the Landgrave Herman of Thuringia, a Hungarian count in the German Empire. At about the age of four Elizabeth was sent to live at the Thuringia Court and was brought up with her future husband Louis. She was a person full of goodness and Louis fell in love with Elizabeth. Louis now 21 and a landgrave in place of his father married Elizabeth who was 14 in 1221. Some at court tried to convince him to send her back to Hungary, but "He declared that he would rather cast away a mountain of gold rather than give her up." From this marriage issued three children.

Elizabeth was extremely charitable. When a famine broke out in parts of Germany some were reduce to grinding up the bark of pine trees as substitute for flower. She exhausted her treasury and distributed the whole store of corn she had. Despite criticism, Louis favored her charity.

The Castle of the Wartburg (right) was built on a steep rock which prevented the sick and feeble to climb up, so Elizabeth built a hospital at it foot where she fed and cared for the sick many times using her own hands. She fed 9,000 daily at her gates. A story is told that one day Elizabeth lay in the bed she shared with her husband a miserable leper. The indignant landgrave rushed in and dragged off the bed covers. At that moment God opened the eyes of his soul and instead saw Christ crucified upon the bed.

At this time Louis of Thuringia joined Frederick II and went on a crusade but he died of the plague at Otranto. When Elizabeth heard that her husband was dead she cried, "The world is dead to me, and all that was joyous in the world."

Now Elizabeth and her family fell on hard times. Elizabeth's brother in law Henry ceased power and drove her away with her children and two servants. Enduring hardships along the way, she eventually was taken in by her uncle, Bishop of Banmberg, who put the castle at Pottenstein at her disposal. When the crusaders returned, they demanded that her right and property be restored which Henry did. In 1228 the body of Louis was brought back and buried in the abbey Church of Reinhardsbrunn. She never remarried because she and her husband had promised never to marry again.

Elizabeth tried to live in her castles but feeling the ill will of Henry decided to build a simple cottage with a hospice in Wehrda, near Marburg. She joined the Third Order of St. Francis wearing the habit of the order. Elizabeth established the first leprosarium in Europe. She placed herself under the spiritual direction of Master Conrad of Marburg who was harsh with her in his effort to lead her to holiness.

She died in 1231 at the age of 23 probably of exhaustion. "As she lay dying she was heard singing in response to a bird on the wall. At cock-crow on the last day, she said, 'It is now the time when [Christ] rose from the grave and broke the doors of hell, and he will release me.'" (Webpage: Elizabeth of Hungary) Many sick people came to her funeral and four years later Pope Gregory IX declared her a Saint.

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus