Elizabeth was born in 1207 at Presburg, the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Andechs-Meran. When only four years of age, she was brought to the Wartburg in Thuringia and educated with her betrothed, Blessed Louis IV, son of Herman, landgrave of Thuringia. Her youth was embittered by taunts and trials caused by Louis's mother Sophia and her courtiers. She married Louis in 1221, and they had one son, Herman, and two daughters, Sophie, future duchess of Brabant, and Blessed Gertrude of Altenburg.
Louis proved himself a husband worthy of her. In fact, they doted on each other. More than any other saintly couple, they were very public in their affection for each other. With his permission and to his secret delight, she multiplied her works of mercy. Her love of the poor was boundless. Even in her dress, she sought to be like Christ. Her marriage lasted only six years. On September 11, 1227, Louis died at Otranto, while on his way with the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to crusade in the Holy Land. When the news reached Elizabeth, she nearly went mad with grief - a grief compounded by the fact that her brother-in-law, Henry Raspe, stripped her of everything and drove her and her children out of the Wartburg Castle.
She found shelter first at Eisenach and then with her uncle, Bishop Egbert of Bamburg. When her husband's friends returned from crusade and realized how she had been treated, they saw to the settlement of a compromise. The city of Marburg and its surrounding territory was given to her. She lived there in voluntary poverty and asceticism as a Tertiary of St. Francis. A major cause of her suffering during this time was her sadistic spiritual director, Master Conrad of Marburg. The severe ascetical practices he imposed on her wrecked her health and surely shortened her life. She died at Marburg on November 19, 1231. She was one of the most attractive saints of the Middle Ages, serene, amiable, and human.
She was venerated immediately after her death and canonized May 27, 1253 by Pope Gregory XI. Her relics were elevated by the Emperor Frederick II on May 1, 1236. Her body was enshrined in the magnificent church dedicated to her at Marburg (built 1235-83). Her descendant, Philip, landgrave of Hesse and a Protestant reformer, put a stop to the pilgrimage to these relics by secretly removing them May 18, 1539. Some of these bones were given to Emperor Charles V in 1547; in 1578, they were given to Queen Elizabeth of France, who gave them to the convent of St. Clare in Vienna, renamed for St. Elizabeth. The relics remain there to this day.
Among the relics in Vienna is her skull. Until the Reformation, it was kept in a magnificent separate reliquary in her church in Marburg. The reliquary was golden and bejeweled, taken as loot by the Swedish army from the Marienburg Fortress in Wurzburg during the Thirty Years War.
It consists of several different parts from different time periods. The oldest part is an agate bowl, made sometime between the 4th and the 7th centuries. Other parts were made during the 11th century, and the base of the reliquary as well as parts of two royal crowns that are incorporated into it date from the 13th century. It is now displayed in the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm. St. Elizabeth's relics can also be found in the Carmelite Church in Brussels. Some are at La Roche Guyon in France. Some are in a chapel dedicated to her in the Cathedral of Bogotá, Columbia.
And then there is her relic, which just arrived at the Shrine of All Saints. It was certified and sealed by Cardinal Antonio Vico, the Vatican Secretary of State, in 1900.
Louis proved himself a husband worthy of her. In fact, they doted on each other. More than any other saintly couple, they were very public in their affection for each other. With his permission and to his secret delight, she multiplied her works of mercy. Her love of the poor was boundless. Even in her dress, she sought to be like Christ. Her marriage lasted only six years. On September 11, 1227, Louis died at Otranto, while on his way with the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to crusade in the Holy Land. When the news reached Elizabeth, she nearly went mad with grief - a grief compounded by the fact that her brother-in-law, Henry Raspe, stripped her of everything and drove her and her children out of the Wartburg Castle.
She found shelter first at Eisenach and then with her uncle, Bishop Egbert of Bamburg. When her husband's friends returned from crusade and realized how she had been treated, they saw to the settlement of a compromise. The city of Marburg and its surrounding territory was given to her. She lived there in voluntary poverty and asceticism as a Tertiary of St. Francis. A major cause of her suffering during this time was her sadistic spiritual director, Master Conrad of Marburg. The severe ascetical practices he imposed on her wrecked her health and surely shortened her life. She died at Marburg on November 19, 1231. She was one of the most attractive saints of the Middle Ages, serene, amiable, and human.
She was venerated immediately after her death and canonized May 27, 1253 by Pope Gregory XI. Her relics were elevated by the Emperor Frederick II on May 1, 1236. Her body was enshrined in the magnificent church dedicated to her at Marburg (built 1235-83). Her descendant, Philip, landgrave of Hesse and a Protestant reformer, put a stop to the pilgrimage to these relics by secretly removing them May 18, 1539. Some of these bones were given to Emperor Charles V in 1547; in 1578, they were given to Queen Elizabeth of France, who gave them to the convent of St. Clare in Vienna, renamed for St. Elizabeth. The relics remain there to this day.
Among the relics in Vienna is her skull. Until the Reformation, it was kept in a magnificent separate reliquary in her church in Marburg. The reliquary was golden and bejeweled, taken as loot by the Swedish army from the Marienburg Fortress in Wurzburg during the Thirty Years War.
It consists of several different parts from different time periods. The oldest part is an agate bowl, made sometime between the 4th and the 7th centuries. Other parts were made during the 11th century, and the base of the reliquary as well as parts of two royal crowns that are incorporated into it date from the 13th century. It is now displayed in the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm. St. Elizabeth's relics can also be found in the Carmelite Church in Brussels. Some are at La Roche Guyon in France. Some are in a chapel dedicated to her in the Cathedral of Bogotá, Columbia.
And then there is her relic, which just arrived at the Shrine of All Saints. It was certified and sealed by Cardinal Antonio Vico, the Vatican Secretary of State, in 1900.
Contact us |
connect with us ON SOCIAL MEDIA |
Search Our Site |
THE SHRINE OF ALL SAINTS
|
Site powered by The Archdiocese of Chicago
|
©2026 The Shrine of All Saints
|