St. Elizabeth, Mother of John the Baptist, Our Primary Patron Saint

Elizabeth (whose name in Hebrew is often translated to mean "consecrated to God,") was a descendant in the priestly line of Aaron. She and her husband, Zachary (Zachariah), a Temple priest, lived an upright and blameless life in one of the hill-towns of Judea. The great disappointment in their lives was that although they had prayed fervently for a child, Elizabeth had reached an advanced age without ever having conceived. This would have been a devastating situation for a Jewish woman such as Elizabeth at that time.

What a miracle it was, then, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared separately to Elizabeth and Zachary informing them that she would bear a son. This boy, to be called John, would be the forerunner of the messiah. When told by the angel that his aging wife would give birth to a child destined to become a great prophet, Zachary did not believe this could be true. For this lack of faith, Zachary was struck dumb.

Elizabeth was related to the Virgin Mary, and although we do not know their exact relationship, apocryphal writings suggest their mothers were sisters and consequently that they were first cousins. When Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her she had been chosen to be mother of the messiah, he also told her that Elizabeth was expecting a child. He further stated that with God, nothing is impossible.

Mary, eager to share in Elizabeth’s happiness and to relate her own good news, traveled from Galilee to visit her. Upon arriving, Mary greeted her kinswoman who was now six months pregnant. The moment she spoke, John leapt with joy in Elizabeth’s womb, thus acknowledging the presence of Christ. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Ghost, responded to Mary with the words, "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. . .". Some interpreters of the Bible state that in the original text of Luke, the "Magnificat" (Luke 1:46-55) may also have been ascribed to Elizabeth rather than to Mary.

Mary remained with Elizabeth for approximately three months—possibly until the birth of John. This visit is a favorite subject of artists. The contrast is striking: Elizabeth, seemingly too old for child-bearing, but destined to give birth to John, last prophet of the old Covenant; and the Virgin Mary, seemingly not ready to have a child but destined to bear the messiah, the beginning of the New Covenant. Our church displays an icon (The Visitation) by Joanna Ferencz of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, which is shown above.

The gospel story tells us that when John was born, friends and neighbors rejoiced with Elizabeth. On the eighth day when the infant was to be circumcised, officials expected him to be called "Zachary" after his father, or possibly named after a dead relative, as was the custom. However, Elizabeth said, "He shall be called John." When questioned about this irregularity, Zachary, still mute, agreed with Elizabeth by writing down the name "John." Thereafter, Zachary’s voice was restored. After the birth and circumcision of John, there is no further mention of Elizabeth in the gospels.

However, apocryphal writings and legends continue the story. King Herod, who was trying to kill Jesus, also heard about the special circumstances surrounding John’s birth and decided to hunt him down as well. According to this legend, Zachary was murdered in the temple because he refused to tell Herod’s soldiers the whereabouts of his young son. 

The story further relates that Elizabeth took John into the wilderness to hide. When they came to a mountain, Elizabeth spoke to it, and a cave opened up. A fresh stream appeared and a fruitful date palm sprang up at its mouth. Thus they were able to avoid Herod’s soldiers by hiding in the cave. Elizabeth died forty days later in the wilderness, and an angel took care of John until he grew up.

In the Greek Orthodox Church, the following Troparion (a poetic hymn referring to a certain feast day) to St. Elizabeth, is used on her feast day:

The barren wilderness thou didst make fertile with the streams of thy tears; and by thy deep sighing thou hast given fruit through thy struggles a hundredfold. Accordingly, thou hast become a star for the universe, sparkling with miracles. Therefore, O righteous Mother Elizabeth, intercede with Christ God to save our souls.

St. Elizabeth’s  feast day is celebrated in the  Roman Church on November 5th,  and in the Greek Church, on September 8.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, (also called St. Elizabeth of Thuringia) Our Secondary Patron Saint

Princess Elizabeth was born in 1207 in Pressburg, Hungary, daughter of King Andrew, II of Hungary and his wife Gertrude, a member of the family of the Counts of Andechs-Meran. When she was four, a formal embassy was sent by Landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia to Hungary to arrange a future marriage between his oldest son Hermann and the child Elizabeth. This plan was devised for political reasons including the hope to form an alliance against the German emperor. Soon afterward, little Elizabeth was taken to the Thuringian court to be brought up with her future husband.

Famous for its magnificence, the court of Thuringia offered all the worldly goods and pleasures. Elizabeth, however, was a very religious child with an inclination toward prayer and penance. These tendencies were likely enhanced by the sorrow she experienced at a young age including the murder of her mother when she was six, and the death of the older son she was to marry when she was eight. Soon thereafter, she was bethrothed to Prince Louis (Ludwig), the second son.

When Landgrave Hermann I died, he was succeeded by his son, Louis IV, who, shortly after his succession at age 21, married Elizabeth, then 13. Their marriage was a happy one and Louis gave his protection to Elizabeth’s acts of charity and penance. Reportedly, he often held her hands as she knelt praying at night beside his bed. The couple had three children: Hermann II, who died young; Sophia; and Gertrude, who became abbess of the convent of Altenberg near Wetzlar.

Soon after their marriage, Elizabeth and Louis made a trip to Hungary where he became involved with Emperor Frederick II, aiding him in affairs of the empire. This frequently kept him away from home. Meanwhile, Elizabeth was being instructed in the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi by a follower, Brother Rodeger. He taught the ideals of chastity, humility, patience, prayer and charity, which were most appealing to her. In 1225, with the help of Elizabeth, the Franciscans founded a monastery in Eisenach. Later, Brother Rodeger’s post was filled by Master Conrad of Marburg, a severe ascetic and unpopular inquisitor of heretics. He reportedly treated Elizabeth with severity, using corporal means of correction and self-mortification.

In the spring of 1226 when Louis was away in Italy on behalf of the emperor, the people of Thuringia experienced many disasters such as floods, famine and plague. Elizabeth assumed control of affairs in her husband’s absence, sold her jewels and distributed help in all parts of her husband’s territory. She built a hospital with 28 beds and visited patients daily to attend to their needs. When he returned, Louis confirmed all that she had done. Today, a number of hospitals throughout the world are named in honor of Elizabeth and her charitable work.

In 1227, Louis accompanied the emperor on a crusade to Palestine, but died en route from the plague. The news reached Elizabeth just after she had given birth to their third child. On hearing the news, the 20-year old cried, "The world with all its joys is now dead to me."

In the winter of 1227, Elizabeth was either driven out of the castle by her late husband’s family or voluntarily left (historians disagree), accompanied by two female attendants. Her children were brought to her but were later taken elsewhere to be cared for. Her Aunt Matilda, Abbess of the Benedictine nunnery of Kitzingen, took charge and sent Elizabeth to her Uncle Eckbert, Bishop of Bamberg. He, however, wanted to arrange another marriage for her, even though Elizabeth had earlier made a vow not to re-marry. During this time, her husband’s remains were brought back to Bamberg by his faithful followers who had carried them from Italy. Weeping bitterly, Elizabeth buried him in the family vault in the monastery of Reinhardsbrunn.

With the help of her late husband’s followers and Master Conrad, she was now able to get the value of her dowry in cash, a large portion of which she immediately distributed to the poor. In the Franciscan house at Eisenach on Good Friday in 1228, Elizabeth formally renounced the world. Master Conrad then conferred the honor of the Third Order of St. Francis upon Elizabeth and her maids, thus making them among the first tertiaries of Germany.

That summer, Elizabeth built a Franciscan hospice and devoted herself entirely to the care of the sick-—especially those afflicted with the most repulsive diseases. Master Conrad continued to impose self-mortifications and spiritual renunciations and even took away her devoted maids. Elizabeth’s strength was finally consumed by her charitable work and she died of exhaustion in 1231 at age 24.

Soon after her death, miracles of healing began to be reported at her grave in the church of the hospital. Master Conrad was a leader in the process of her canonization, and finally on May 28,1235, she was canonized by Gregory IX in Italy. She was called the "greatest woman of the German Middle Ages."

St. Elizabeth was a life-long friend of the poor and gave herself entirely to relieving the hungry. She is often depicted as a princess wearing a crown giving alms to the poor, or holding roses in her lap. (The latter depiction refers to a legend in which she was taking bread to the poor when she was surprised by her husband. The bread she tried to conceal suddenly turned into roses.)

In the Calendar of the Book of Common Prayer, November 19 is listed as the special day for St. Elizabeth of Hungary.