Saints of the Day & More

Elizabeth was a Spanish princess who was given in marriage to King Denis of Portugal at the age of twelve. She was very beautiful and very lovable. She was also very devout, and went to Mass every day. Elizabeth was a holy wife, but although her husband was fond of her at first, he soon began to cause her great suffering. Though a good ruler, he did not imitate his wife's love of prayer and other virtues. In fact, his sins of impurity gave great scandle to the people. Later, to make matters worse, the King believed a lie told about Elizabeth and one of her pages by another page, who was jealous of his companion. In great anger the King ordered the one he believed guilty, to be sent to a lime-burner. The lime-burner was commanded to throw into his furnace the first page who came. The good page set out obediently, not knowing death was waiting for him. On his way he stopped for Mass, since he had the habit of going daily. The first Mass had begun, so he stayed for a second one. In th...

Clotilde, daughter of Burgundian Chilperic Carétène and Christian, born around 474, probably in Lyons, she was raised in the practice of virtue and veneration of the martyrs of Lyon, Saint Blandina especially. When, around 490, Chilperic died she had to tutor her uncle Godegisil, King Geneva. Sought in marriage by the Frankish king, Clovis, still pagan, who wanted to find allies against the Burgundians, the Visigoths, under this condition she agreed that children born of their union would be raised in the Catholic faith. The marriage was celebrated in Soissons with the pomp of barbaric customs: the great concern of Clotilde, from that moment, was the conversion of her husband. The work must be slow, it could seriously fear that if Clovis was a Christian, he immediately fell into Arianism. The auxiliary was sent by Providence Remi, bishop of Rheims, who had won the good graces of the barbarian king, congratulating him on his accession to the throne. The birth of her first child was for ...

St. Elizabeth was born in Hungary in 1207, the daughter of Alexander II, King of Hungary. At the age of four she was sent for education to the court of the Landgrave of Thuringia, to whose infant son she was betrothed. As she grew in age, her piety also increased by leaps and bounds. In 1221, she married Louis of Thuringia and in spite of her position at court began to lead an austerely simple life, practiced penance, and devoted herself to works of charity. Her husband was himself much inclined to religion and highly esteemed her virtue, encouraging her in her exemplary life. They had three children when tragedy struck - Louis was killed while fighting with the Crusaders. After his death, Elizabeth left the court, made arrangements for the care of her children, and in 1228, renounced the world, becoming a tertiary of St. Francis. She built the Franciscan hospital at Marburg and devoted herself to the care of the sick until her death at the age of 24 in 1231. St. Elizabeth is the patro...