Apostleship of Prayer - Saints
November 17 - Elizabeth of Hungary
Elizabeth of Hungary was born in 1207, the daughter of Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Andechs-Meran. When she was fourteen years of age she was married to Ludwig of Thuringa. By all accounts the marriage was a happy one though they spent only a little time together. In her care of the needy, Elizabeth built hospitals. Many of the nobles did not like the works of charity that Elizabeth performed. Ludwig went off on one of the Crusades to recapture the Holy Land. There he died.
After this Elizabeth was accused of mismanagement and her brother in law, the regent for her son, forced her to vacate Wartburg. As she wished to enter the Third of St. Francis, she made arrangements for the provision of her four children. Then she spent the rest of her life doing works of charity for the poor and the hungry. She became famous in her own life time for her prayer, penance and gentleness. She died in 1230 at the age of twenty-three and was canonized in 1235.
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