Elizabeth of Hungary
Catholic saint (1207−1231)
Feast: 17 November (current Roman calendar, memorial) · 19 November (1962 Missal, III class)
Who they were
Elizabeth, daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary, was married at fourteen to Louis IV of Thuringia, aged twenty; their love was deep, and they encouraged each other to serve God. She lived so simply that women of her rank despised her. She bore a son at fifteen and daughters at seventeen and twenty; twenty days before the last birth, in 1227, Louis died at Otranto on his way to the Crusade.
Driven from the castle and separated from her children, she gave up her inheritance and, inspired by St Francis, became a Franciscan tertiary, spending herself on the poor and sick at Marburg until she died. Her confessor, the bishop of Marburg, wrote that he had rarely seen a more contemplative woman, and that her face shone when she came from prayer.
The miracles
The miracles examined for her canonisation are not described in the sources we have used.
Why that counted as sanctity
A king's daughter and a loving wife, Elizabeth lost everything and chose to serve Christ in the poor, joining tireless charity to deep prayer.
Connected on this site
- Agnes of Bohemia Saint Relative
- Gertrude of Aldenberg Blessed Child“She was the daughter of Elizabeth of Hungary and of Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia.” — Wikipedia
- Louis IV Blessed Spouse“Elizabeth, daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary, was married at fourteen to Louis IV of Thuringia, aged twenty; their love was deep, and they encouraged each other to serve God.” — this site's research
- Casilda of Toledo Saint“Like Elizabeth of Hungary and Elizabeth of Portugal, the miracle of the roses was attached to her legend.” — Wikipedia
- Elizabeth of Aragon Saint“Elizabeth was born in Spain in 1271 and named after her great-aunt St Elizabeth of Hungary.” — this site's research
- Margaret of Hungary Saint“She was the younger sister of Kinga of Poland (Kunegunda) and Yolanda of Poland and, through her father, the niece of the famed Elizabeth of Hungary.” — Wikipedia
- Elizabeth of Hungary, Queen of Serbia Blessed“Elizabeth of Hungary (Hungarian: Erzsébet, Serbian: Јелисавета/Jelisaveta; c.” — Wikipedia
- Elizabeth of Töss Blessed“Elizabeth of Hungary (1292 – 31 October 1336 or 6 May 1338; also known as Blessed Elizabeth of Töss, O.P.) was a Hungarian princess and the last member of the House of Árpád.” — Wikipedia
- Yolanda of Poland Blessed“One of her paternal aunts was the Franciscan Elizabeth of Hungary.” — Wikipedia
- Vatican News - Saint of the day (Italian): Elizabeth of Hungary
- Wikidata Q159862 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Elizabeth of Hungary (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.