St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Daughter of King Andrew of Hungary, Elizabeth was betrothed at the age of four to Louis IV, landgrave of Thuringia, who was seven years older than she. Their marriage was celebrated ten years later.

The profoundly Christian couple brought three children into the world. On September 11, 1227, Louis IV of Thuringia died in Otranto at the age of 26, on his way to the Crusades. The Church venerates him as a Blessed.

Once a widow, Queen Elizabeth devoted herself to the education of her children and to works of charity, especially for the poor and sick, showing a particularly maternal care for lepers.

Driven from the royal court with her children, she led a life of penance entirely devoted to the poor and needy for whom she had a hospital built. She died a pious death on November 17, 1231, at the age of 24, having lived a saintly life as a young girl, a wife, a mother and a widow.

Numerous miracles soon brought crowds flocking to her tomb, and her renown spread throughout the Catholic world, leading to her canonization by Pope Gregory IX.