Elizabeth of Hungary, Saint

Elizabeth of Hungary, Saint

(born 1207, probably Pressburg, Hung.—died Nov. 17, 1231, Marburg, Thuringia; canonized 1235; feast day November 17) Princess of Hungary canonized for her devotion to the poor. She married Louis IV of Thuringia, who died of plague in 1227 en route to the Sixth Crusade. She then joined the Third Order of St. Francis and devoted her life to the poor and sick, for whom she built a hospice. As a young girl, Elizabeth is said to have stolen bread, which she gave to the poor, and later distributed grain during famines. In the best-known legend, which is often depicted in art, Elizabeth met her husband unexpectedly on one of her charitable errands; the loaves of bread she was carrying were miraculously changed into roses. This transformation convinced him of the worthiness of her kind endeavours, about which he had been chiding her.