Elizabeth, or Elisabet, daughter of Andrew II, king of Hungary, married Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia. When he died while on crusade, the young widow devoted herself to an extraordinary life of charity. She founded a hospital in Magdeburg in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, her contemporary.
Elizabeth spent the rest of her life in this institution, personally serving the sick. She died in Magdeburg on November 17, 1231, and was canonized just a few years later, in 1235.
Since 1670, when she was added to the Roman calendar, her feast was celebrated on November 19, the day of her burial. The newly reformed calendar, however, restored her memorial to the date of her death, November 17.
