St. Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hungary

St. Elizabeth, the Landgravine of Hungary, is an exceptionally holy and pious example of Christian charity in the Church that the Middle Ages has produced. She also possessed a holy and childlike faith and devotion in all her life to Our Lord Jesus Christ. She was born to the pious King Andrew II who was renowned as King of Hungary for fighting back infidels, and his wife Queen Gertrude, the sister of the High Duchess St. Hedwig of Silesia, another charitable influence on the life of the young Landgravine. Herman, the Landgrave of Thuringia and Hesse at the time, was promised by the king that his son Lewis would be given in marriage to the daughter of the king. This promise was fulfilled, and from a very young age, she would be sent to live with the Landgrave, until she was old enough to marry.

She was always devoted to God and had her heart set on attaining the holiness of Our Lord and nothing else. She was devoted to her guardian angel and to St. John the Evangelist especially. At one point, she took the coronet off her head as she entered into the House of God. The Landgravine Sophia and her daughter Agnes inquired of the Princess why she did such an act, to which the young Elizabeth replied that she could not bear the weight of such jewels on her head while she beheld her Lord with a Crown of Thorns on His own head. Her acts of devotion earned her the ill-treatment of the Landgravine and Agnes who became her primary caretakers not long after she was given over the Landgrave Hermann. For Hermann had reposed when Elizabeth was just nine years of age and the widowed Landgravine became regent for her younger son Lewis, whom Elizabeth would soon marry. The courtiers would also bear hostility toward the young Elizabeth. It was through these trials that the saint would learn the rejection of worldly love and affairs and see that the only thing that mattered was her Lord. She would regularly pray,

O sovereign spouse of my soul, never suffer me to love any thing but in Thee, or for Thee. May every thing which tends not to Thee, be bitter and painful, and Thy will alone sweet. May Thy will be always mine: as in heaven Thy will is punctually performed, so may it be done on earth by all creatures, particularly in me and by me. And as love requires a union, and entire resignation of all things into the hands of the beloved, I give up my whole self to thee without reserve. In my heart I renounce all riches and pomp: if I had many worlds I would leave them all to adhere to Thee alone in poverty and nakedness of spirit, as Thou madest Thyself poor for me. O Spouse of my heart, so great is the love I bear Thee, and holy poverty for thy sake, that with joy I leave all that I am, that I may be transformed into Thee and that abandoned state so amiable to Thee.

Once, when Elizabeth went out in public, richly adorned and crowned, met a crowd of poor people. Having already given to them all her silver, a poor man walked up to her. She gave to him her embroidered glove. A young cavalier who was following the crowd bought the glove from the beggar and attached it to his helmet for Divine protection. He never ceased to go into battle without the glove. He would be triumphant in all battles and tournaments he faced and he fought in the Crusades. He attributed his victories to the saint. And it was not only in gifts of money that the saint would bestow. She would also serve them in holy acts. Once, when serving a group of impoverished people, she went out to gather meat, bread, and eggs. When her husband came out to meet her, he asked what it was she was carrying. She opened her arms to reveal a bundle of flowers and roses. He was about to caress her when he saw a cross appear above her head. He took one of the flowers from her, which he kept throughout his life and went on his way. When she returned to her friends, the flowers had gone back to the form of meat, bread, and eggs. Once, when she found a poor boy who was suffering from leprosy, she washed him and brought him back to her home. The Landgravine Sophia, who had detested Elizabeth for her charitable acts, exclaimed to Lewis, "See what she has done now! ... She has put one in your bed and you will catch the leprosy!" But when Lewis pulled back the curtain, it was revealed that in the bed was the Savior, and he never allowed Elizabeth to be opposed in her acts of charity ever again.

When she turned fourteen, the young Lewis would return from his education and though he would not think of her much, when the question was put in regards to marrying her, the one thing he considered most of value was her virtue. He expressed much displeasure to the way the saint was treated and more than honored, but also promoted her virtuous acts. He also was inspired to much virtue by the saint himself. As a gift, he sent her a glass garnished with precious stones of incredible value, on one side an image of the Crucified Christ, and the other a looking glass. The wedding was performed with utmost pomp and extraordinary public rejoicings by a holy man, Conrad of Marpurg. This Conrad became the saint's confessor and encouraged her in her acts of virtue. Conrad was further approved by Lewis and he submitted to Conrad as his confessor too. Both Lewis and Elizabeth joined themselves together in their charitable acts of giving. If she wasn't praying or reading, she was performing acts of charity, spinning, or cording wool, of which she would distribute to the poor. She strove to make prayer a continual act. And she never ate but what came out of her own kitchen.

In 1221, the Order of St. Francis was founded in Germany and the young Landgravine gave them utmost support. In 1222, Lewis and Elizabeth paid her father a visit and attended his second marriage to Yolande de Courtenay, daughter of the Emperor of Constantinople. In 1223, Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, Hermann. Elizabeth bore Lewis three children. Hermann, Sophia, and Gertrude. In 1225, a severe famine broke out in Germany while Lewis was visiting with the Emperor Frederick II. Elizabeth had exhausted the entire treasury to assist the poor and hungry during this time and the nobles were sharply critical of what she had done. They brought their accusations of her to her husband. But once more, he supported her, acknowledging that God would enrich them with divine blessings for the charity that they had done for the poor. But soon after this event, Lewis would be called out of his piety to fight in the Crusades for the Emperor Frederick II. The separation was a great trial for the two lovers but they bore all things in holiness. On his way to fight in the Crusades however, the Landgrave became ill with a fever and he died in Otranto. Elizabeth had just given birth to her youngest daughter Gertrude when the news of his repose reached her. She put on the dress of a widow and declared, "If my husband be dead, I promise to die henceforth to myself, and to the world with all its vanities."

And God would grant this request to her through the suffering which would soon befall her. For the Landgrave's brother treated his widowed sister-in-law with bitter contempt. It was said she squandered the public revenue to the poor and that her son Hermann was unfit for the government of the state. Elizabeth was forced out of the palace and made to stay in an inn with her maidens. But she nevertheless rejoiced in this newfound poverty that she had acquired. She would attend the Matins of the Franciscan friars the next day, and finding no one to take her in afterwards, stayed at the Church. She eventually was reunited with her children while there. And yet, reduced to poverty, she cried out in worship:

Ah. my Lord and my God, may Thou be all mine, and I all Thine. What is this, my God and my love? Thou all mine and I all Thine. Let me love Thee, my God, above all things, and let me not love myself but for Thee, and all other things in Thee Let me love Thee, with all my soul, with all my memory.

This bitter poverty the princess found herself in at only the age of 20 would not last long. For the nobility and her family were incensed at the outrage that had taken place and demanded justice for the widow and her children. Her aunt Matilda, the Abbess of the Kitzingen Monastery, invited her in. And the Bishop of Bamberg provided her a house near his palace. The Emperor Frederick II, seeing how young she was and having lost his own wife, proposed marriage to her. But the maiden desired to fulfill the rest of her days in chastity. The remains of her husband were brought back to Bamberg for a funeral procession where she thanked God for having received him into His eternal tabernacles. The remains were then brought back to Thuringia and laid to rest. The chief barons demanded that Henry restore her dower and all the rights of her widowhood. Though she chose to renounce the government, allowing Henry to serve as regent for her son while she took the habit of a Third Order Franciscan. Henry gave to her the land Marpurg begrudgingly asserting that if she held all of Germany, it would be given to the poor. She stayed the remainder of her days with her confessor Conrad who forbade her to give up the remaining disposal of her revenues. She converted the remainder of her dower to the use of the poor.

She was now separated from her children. Hermann was the Landgrave of Hungary, his uncle Henry the regent. Her daughter Sophia was pledged in marriage to the Duke of Brabant. Her daughter Gertrude would be the Abbess of the Aldemburg monastery. Her father attempted to encourage her to reclaim her royal titles, but she refused, preferring the state of voluntary poverty to the riches of the world. Conrad began to treat her harshly so that she would not be inclined to think of her past life and always be in remembrance of the new vows she had taken up. He ordered her not to give so much to the poor and not to provide so much for the sick and when she would disobey, he treated her with blows. He further took away her maids Ysentrude and Guda, lest her conversation with them remind them of her past life and replaced them with ill-tempered women. This was to teach Elizabeth the importance of obedience to her new spiritual director and confessor.

One day, a boy, both deaf and dumb, came to the saint. She inquired of him what ailed him. He did not answer. Not knowing why, she presumed an evil spirit had possessed him and said, "In the name of the Lord Jesus, I command you to answer me." At this point, the boy was able to speak. Hearing of this miracle, many brought their sick to the saintly woman for healing. She beheld a vision not long before her death which she would relate to Conrad. A voice had proclaimed to her, "Come, Elizabeth, come with me into the tabernacle I have prepared for thee from all eternity." On the fourth day, she fell ill with a violent fever which last for several days. Though Conrad had also been battling a recent illness, he was able to recover just enough to visit her one last time. The saint gave her last confession and gave up her soul on November 19, 1231. She was brought to the Church of St. Francis where she had often visited. She was laid to rest in Marpurg.

Her confessor Conrad and her brother-in-law Duke Conrad begged Pope Gregory IX to canonize her. The Pope did so on May 26, 1235. On May 1, 1236, people from all over came to do homage to the saint and two altars were erected to her. Frederick II took up the first stone of her grave and placed upon it a rich crown of gold. Her daughters Sophia and Gertrude took part in these ceremonies. Her son Hermann desired to be buried next to his mother. The Landgrave Henry, fearing the miracles that Elizabeth had performed, was afraid that the proximity to her body would raise her son back to life if he was laid next to her. He sought to have Hermann buried next to his father Lewis in Reinhartsbrunn. The Landgravine's widowed daughter Sophia, the Landgravine of Brabant, sought to claim the inheritance of Hermann for her son, and she succeeded in gaining him Hesse. Portions of her relics are kept in the Church of the Carmelites at Brussels; another portion at the Church of La Roche-Guyon upon the Seine; and a significant portion in the electoral treasury of Hanover.

Sources:

Agnes B.C. Dunbar, A Dictionary of Saintly Women

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Widow

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for me, and may you send your guardian angel to assist my own angel!