Tragedy marked her youth when, in 1213, her mother was murdered by a group of Hungarian nobles, an event that weakened her position and put her dowry at risk. The sudden death of her fiancé three years later seemed to seal her fate. However, history took an unexpected turn. Ludwig, Hermann’s younger brother, who had been in love with Elizabeth since childhood, decided to marry her and thus secure her place at court. Together they formed an extraordinary couple, united by deep affection and a shared project: to care for the most needy and to live their faith authentically. They founded a hospital in Gotha and championed a Christian vision based on justice and compassion.
While Ludwig was away on a military campaign in Italy, Elizabeth assumed responsibility for the administration of the county. Those years coincided with poor harvests and floods that caused famine in the region. The young countess opened a hospital next to the castle, distributed food and money, sold her jewels and precious fabrics, and worked with her own hands to ease the suffering of her people. The best-known stories about her come from this period, such as the famous miracle of the roses: surprised by Ludwig while she was carrying bread hidden in her apron, the loaves were transformed into flowers, a symbol that has accompanied her in sacred art ever since.
After her husband’s death in 1227 during a crusade to the Holy Land, Elizabeth lost the protection that had allowed her to reconcile court life with her spiritual vocation. Her departure from the castle — interpreted by some as an expulsion and by others as a voluntary act of renunciation — led her to deepen even further her commitment to the Gospel. Under the influence of her spiritual director, the controversial Konrad von Marburg, she embraced Franciscan poverty and, in 1228, entered the Third Order of Saint Francis, becoming the first woman to adopt it in German territory. With the assets from her widowhood she built a hospital in Marburg, where she personally cared for the sick and for pilgrims.
Elizabeth died in this city on 17 November 1231, at just 24 years of age. Her reputation for holiness spread quickly and, in 1235, Pope Gregory IX canonized her in a massive celebration. Marburg raised a majestic cathedral in her honor, while her cult spread throughout Europe. Today she is a patroness of the Franciscan Order and has also been patroness of married women, young mothers, bakers, Spanish nurses, hospitals and charitable works, as well as of the Archdiocese of Bogotá. Her figure is present in countless churches, such as the imposing Cathedral of Košice in Slovakia, or the Basilica of Saint Elizabeth in Sárospatak, elevated to the rank of minor basilica in 2007.
Her memory also lives on in art — from medieval stained glass to masterpieces such as Murillo’s Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Nursing the Sick — and in contemporary culture. The Way of Saint Elizabeth, a 100-kilometer pilgrimage route between Sárospatak and Košice, now allows walkers and travelers to cross the landscapes that shaped her birth and her legacy. Festivals, historical processions and popular traditions, such as the weather-related beliefs associated with 19 November, keep alive the presence of this saint who knew how to unite a profound love of God with absolute dedication to the most vulnerable.
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary does not belong only to the religious history of Europe: she is, above all, a universal symbol of compassion and humanity born in the wine-growing heart of Tokaj.
