Saint Elizabeth Day

I know in protestant churches saints aren't honoured, but to my heart Saint Elizabeth is very close. For one thing she is Bella's patron saint, for another we went to church on Easter Sunday when Kimo proposed to me to the St Elizabeth Church in Budapest and she's alo the parton saint of families and health-care workers. She was born 800 years ago today. Here's her life story that Kimo translated recently.

Saint Elisabeth of Hungary was born on November 19, 1207 (feast day: November 17) in Sárospatak (according to other sources in Óbuda or Bratislava). Her father was King Andrew II of Hungary and her mother was Gertrude of Merania. Elisabeth was the third of five children, and her older brother later became King Bela IV of Hungary. She was betrothed to the eldest son of Hermann I, landgrave of Thurginia, and thus she moved first to Eisenach and then to the Wartburg castle. Her fiancé died in 1216, and Hermann’s second son, Louis, became heir to his father’s title and was married to Elisabeth in 1221. Their marriage was a happy one, as the young couple truly loved each other, which was rare for the arranged marriages of that day and age. They had three children: Hermann, Sofia and Gertrude (venerated as Blessed, November 13). Her manners were unusual for the medieval court, as she did not enjoy dancing, preferring horse riding instead. Nor was she willing to learn the tippy-toe walk required of noble ladies of the time; but her most shocking behaviour was her willingness to openly express her emotions. She was “most generous to the poor, always full of goodness and divine love”. During a famine in 1225, for example, she emptied the stores of the Wartburg, distributing all of the food to those in need. Her husband, Louis, left on a crusade in 1227 and never returned. Following the death of Louis, Elisabeth joined the Third Order of St. Francis. She took vows of poverty and dedicated the rest of her life to religion. She initially served in Eisenach and then built a Franciscan hospital in Marburg. She died on November 16, 1231, at the age of 24, and was canonized by Pope Gregory IX four years later. A church dedicated to her was built over her grave in Marburg (1236-1283). King Bela IV of Hungary had a church dedicated to her built in Kápolna.

Her's some more reading as well:

http://www.catholicforum.com/saints/sainte01.htm

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05389a.htm