Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia

1 - Elisabeth of Thuringia, also known as Elisabeth of Hungary, was born on July 7, 1207. She was the daughter of the King of Hungary. At just 4 years old, she came to Thuringia.

2 - At the age of 14, she married Landgrave Ludwig IV of Thuringia. The couple lived at Wartburg Castle near Eisenach and had three children. Elisabeth soon showed extraordinary kindness and care for the poor and sick. Together with her husband, she founded a hospital in Gotha. She cared nothing for pomp and luxury. It is said that on church feast days she attended services barefoot and wearing a garment made of coarse wool.

3 - It is also said that Elisabeth spun wool and wove it with her servants into cloths, which she gave to poor people. She washed and dressed the deceased and arranged their funerals. She also personally helped care for the sick in the hospital she had built at the foot of the Wartburg. She is said to have been especially affectionate toward children. According to the accounts available, she hugged and kissed even leprous, dirty and disabled children, and bought them glass rings and little pots to play with.

4 - In the winter of 1225/1226, many people went hungry because the weather had destroyed the crops. While her husband was at the emperor's court in Cremona, Elisabeth had the landgrave's granaries opened throughout the country to provide for the starving population.

5 - In September 1227, her husband Ludwig died of an infection in Italy. He had joined Emperor Frederick II's crusade. Some time before that, Elisabeth had come under the influence of the preacher Konrad von Marburg. He was the priest to whom she regularly confessed and to whom she eventually promised obedience. He strongly encouraged her good works for the poor.

6 - After her husband’s death, Elisabeth had serious conflicts with his family, who feared for the landgrave’s estate because she gave so much away. Her husband’s younger brother took over as regent and deprived her of control over the lands and income. Elisabeth therefore left Wartburg Castle in November 1227. She is said to have spent the winter of 1227–28 destitute in Eisenach. None of Eisenach’s wealthy citizens dared take her into their homes. Her first shelter is said to have been a tavern shed that had previously been used as a pigsty.

7 - In 1228, Elisabeth moved to Marburg. Her late husband’s brothers had given her some land there and left her some money. Elisabeth also founded a hospital in Marburg. She worked there herself as a humble nun. She now wore the “grey habit”. This also showed outwardly that she considered all possessions unimportant. She devoted herself especially to caring for people with leprosy. According to the accounts, she showed particular compassion for pregnant women, women in childbirth, and children. For example, she is said to have carried a paralyzed boy on her shoulders to the latrine several times at night and repeatedly cleaned his bed.

8 - Elisabeth died during the night of 16–17 November 1231. Konrad von Marburg heard her final confession, after which she received the last rites. Elisabeth asked him to distribute her remaining fortune among the poor and needy. The Catholic Church canonised Elisabeth in 1235.

9 - Elisabeth of Thuringia is still venerated in both the Catholic and Protestant churches. Many churches, hospitals and care homes bear her name. She is regarded as the patron saint of Thuringia. Her feast day is November 19. It commemorates her burial on November 19, 1231.