St. Elizabeth of Hungary

St. Elizabeth of Hungary (http://www.aquinasandmore.com/images/elizabethhungary.jpg)

St. Elizabeth of Hungary was born in Pressburg, or Bratislava in 1207 and became the daughter of Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Andechs-Meran, his wife. Not only was she born in a house of royalty, she also married a nobleman who became King Louis IV of Thuringia. She married him at the age of 14 and became a widow at age 20 when her husband died in the Sixth Crusade from a plague. A couple years after they were married, Franciscan monks arrived and Elizabeth learned a lot about Francis of Assisi and lived up to his ideals. King Louis was okay with this because he felt that if he serves the poor well, then he will get eternal life in return. He was venerated as a saint, but was not canonized as Elizabeth was.

As a queen, she felt like she should care for her people. She welcomed the poor to her home and took care of them. When they couldn't come to her house, she brought the food to them. In 1125, Germany was experiencing a famine and she used her own treasury and distributed all her corn to the people who needed it the most. She also built a hospital and cared for the sick. She also spends most of her time in prayer.

St. Elizabeth feeding the poor (http://www.itmonline.org/bodytheology/images/steliz1.jpg)

I think that Elizabeth was motivated because she felt love towards those who were poor and so that's why she's the patron saint of the homeless. I also think that since she stood at such a high power, she felt like she had a responsibility to look out for and take care of her people.

Elizabeth is very inspiring because even though she was a princess and lived in a wealthy home, she spent her time in prayer and did all she could to help the poor. She was always compassionate and never selfish, and she always wanted the best for everyone else like her family and the poor.