biblical-name

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:40:51 +0100

Elizabeth Ann Seton

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Foundress and Educator
Born	August 28, 1774(1774-08-28), New York City
Died	January 4, 1821 (aged 46), Emmitsburg, Maryland
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	March 17, 1963 by Pope John XXIII
Canonized	September 14, 1975 by Pope Paul VI
Feast	January 4
Patronage	Catholic Schools; Shreveport, Louisiana; and the State of Maryland

Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized, on September 14, 1975.

Biography

Seton was born on August 28, 1774 to Richard Bayley of New York City.^[1] She was raised in the Episcopal Church. Her mother, daughter of an Episcopal priest, died when Elizabeth was three. At the age of nineteen, she married William Magee Seton, a wealthy businessman. Five children were born to the marriage, Anna Maria, William, Richard, Catherine (also known as "Kit") and Rebecca.

Her home in Manhattan, New York City (building at right with columns, 7 State Street), now a shrine in her honor

Her husband's business lost several ships at sea and the family ended up bankrupt. Soon after, her husband became ill and his doctors sent him to Italy for the warmer climate, with Elizabeth Seton accompanying him. In Italy, they were held in quarantine, during which time her husband died. She spent time with a wealthy family where she was exposed to Catholicism. Two years later she converted to Roman Catholicism, on March 14, 1805 and was received into the Church by the first bishop of Baltimore, John Carroll. One of her half-nephews, James Roosevelt Bayley, would later also convert, and became Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Owing to her conversion, she lost the support of her friends and family. To support her children, she started a school in Baltimore, but it failed due to the anti-Catholic bigotry of the day. In 1809, after some trying and difficult years, Elizabeth moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where a year later she established Saint Joseph's Academy and Free School, a school dedicated to the education of Catholic girls, at the invitation of Samuel Sutherland Cooper. Cooper was a wealthy convert and seminarian who knew of the Catholic settlement near Emmitsburg and the newly established Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary, begun by Father (later Bishop) John Dubois and the Sulpicians.

Eventually, Elizabeth was able to establish a religious community in Emmitsburg, Maryland dedicated to the care of the children of the poor. It was the first religious community of apostolic women founded in the United States, and its school was the first free school in America. The order was called the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph.

The remainder of Elizabeth's life was spent in leading and developing the new order, which expanded to include the Sulpician priests of Baltimore. Today, six independent religious communities trace their roots to the humble beginnings of the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

St. Joseph's Academy eventually developed into Saint Joseph College, which closed in 1973. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) purchased the buildings and land of Saint Joseph College in 1979 and it is now the site of the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) housing the Emergency Management Institute, the United States Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy.

Elizabeth was described as a charming and cultured lady. Her connections to New York society and the accompanying social pressures to leave the new life she had created for herself did not deter her from embracing her religious vocation and charitable mission. She established St. Joseph's Academy and Free School in order to educate young girls to live by religious values. The greatest difficulties she faced were actually internal, stemming from misunderstandings, interpersonal conflicts, and the deaths of two daughters, other loved ones, and young sisters in community. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 46 in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Today, her remains are entombed in the Basilica that bears her name: the Basilica of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Dedicated to following the will of God, Elizabeth Ann had a deep devotion to the Eucharist, Sacred Scripture, and the Virgin Mary. The 23rd Psalm was her favorite prayer throughout her life. She was a woman of prayer and service who embraced the apostolic spirituality of Saint Louise de Marillac and Saint Vincent de Paul.

Statue in Saint Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx

"We must pray literally without ceasing—without ceasing—in every occurrence and employment of our lives . . . that prayer of the heart which is independent of place or situation, or which is rather a habit of lifting up the heart to God as in a constant communication with Him." Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Recognition

On December 18, 1959, Elizabeth was declared Venerable by the Sacred Congregation of Rites of the Catholic Church. She was beatified by Pope John XXIII on March 17, 1963, and canonized by Pope Paul VI on September 14, 1975, making her the first native-born United States citizen to be canonized. Her feast day is January 4.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is popularly considered a patron saint of Catholic schools. Her name appears on the front doors of St. Patrick's Cathedral, as a "Daughter of New York". The National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, is open to the public. In addition, The Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton has been created from her home in Manhattan, and is accessible to the public.^[2]

The Mother Seton House at Baltimore, Maryland was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.^[3] The house had been offered as an inducement to Elizabeth Seton to come to Baltimore in 1808 and there to found a school and occupy the then newly completed house.^[4] It is now operated as a museum by St. Mary’s Seminary.

Namesakes

The Seton Hill neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland is named for Mother Seton.

Mother Seton School, a Catholic elementary school in Emmitsburg, Maryland, traces its roots directly to St. Joseph's Academy and Free School, founded by St. Elizabeth Ann in 1810. In 1856, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's nephew and the Bishop of Newark (a diocese which had been established just three years prior in 1853), James Roosevelt Bayley, founded the first major institution named in her honor Seton Hall College (which is now Seton Hall University).

Quite a number of churches, other schools and hospitals have been named for Elizabeth Seton:

Princess St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:38:15 +0100

Elisabeth of Hungary

Princess Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
The Charity of St. Elizabeth of Hungary by Edmund Blair Leighton (1895)
Widow
Born	July 7, 1207(1207-07-07), Pressburg, Kingdom of Hungary (modern-day Bratislava, Slovakia)
Died	November 17, 1231 (aged 24), Marburg, Landgraviate of Thuringia, Holy Roman Empire (modern-day Hesse, Germany)
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Anglican Church Lutheran Church
Canonized	May 28, 1235, Perugia, Italy by Pope Gregory IX
Major shrine	Elisabeth Church (Marburg)
Feast	November 17 November 19 (on Protestant calendars, some local calendars and among Traditional Roman Catholics)
Attributes	Roses, Crown, Food basket
Patronage	hospitals, nurses, bakers, brides, countesses, dying children, exiles, homeless people, lacemakers, tertiaries and widows

Saint Elisabeth of Hungary (German: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen or Heilige Elisabeth von Ungarn, Hungarian: Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, July 7, 1207 – November 17, 1231)^[1] is a Hungarian Catholic saint, princess of Hungary.^[2] According to tradition, she was born in the castle of Sárospatak, Hungary, on July 7, 1207.^[3]^[4]^[5] She was the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Andechs-Merania, and at age four was brought to the court of the rulers of Thuringia in Central Germany, to become a future bride who would reinforce political alliances between the families. Elisabeth was married at the age of fourteen, widowed at twenty, relinquished her wealth to the poor, built hospitals, and became a symbol of Christian charity in Germany and elsewhere after her death at the age of twenty-four.

Early life and marriage

A sermon printed in 1497 by the Franciscan Osvaldus de Lasco, a church official in Hungary, is the first to name Sárospatak as the saint's birthplace, perhaps building on local tradition. The veracity of this account is not without reproach: Osvaldus also transforms the miracle of the roses (see below) to Elisabeth's childhood in Sárospatak, and has her leave Hungary at the age of five.^[6]

According to more contemporary and very trustworthy sources, Elisabeth left Hungary at the age of four, to become betrothed to Ludwig IV of Thuringia. Some have suggested that Ludwig's brother Hermann was in fact the eldest, and that she was first betrothed to him until his death in 1232, but this is doubtful. An event of this magnitude would almost certainly be mentioned at least once in the many original sources at our disposal, and this is not the case. Rather, the 14th-century "Cronica Reinhardsbrunnensis" specifically names Hermann as the second son. In addition, the only contemporary document (dated May 29, 1214) that might support Hermann's claim to be the eldest by putting his name before Ludwig's relates to a monastery in Hesse. This, it has been suggested, actually supports the claim that Hermann was the younger of the two, as Hesse was traditionally the domain of the second son, and thus it would be normal that his name be mentioned first, as this document deals with his territory.^[7]

In 1221, at the age of fourteen, Elisabeth married Ludwig; the same year he was crowned Ludwig IV, and the marriage appears to have been happy. In 1223, Franciscan monks arrived, and the teenage Elisabeth not only learned about the ideals of Francis of Assisi, but started to live them. Ludwig was not upset by his wife's charitable efforts, believing that the distribution of his wealth to the poor would bring eternal reward; he is venerated in Thuringia as a saint (without being canonized by the Church, unlike his wife).

It was also about this time that the priest and later inquisitor Konrad von Marburg--a harsh man and a true product of his age--gained considerable power over Elisabeth, when he was appointed as her confessor.

In the spring of 1226, when floods, famine, and plague wrought havoc in Thuringia, Ludwig, a staunch supporter of the Hohenstaufen Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, represented Frederick II at the Reichstag (Imperial Diet) in Cremona. Elisabeth assumed control of affairs and distributed alms in all parts of their territory, even giving away state robes and ornaments to the poor. Below the Wartburg Castle, she built a hospital with twenty-eight beds and visited the inmates daily to attend to them.

Elisabeth's life changed irrevocably on September 11, 1227 when Ludwig, en route to join the Sixth Crusade, died of the plague in Otranto, Italy. His remains were returned to Elisabeth in 1228 and deposited in Reinhardsbrunn; on hearing the news of her husband's death, Elisabeth is reported to have said, "He is dead. He is dead. It is to me as if the whole world died today."^[8]

Widowed at the age of twenty

After Ludwig's death, his brother Heinrich Raspe of Thuringia assumed the regency during the minority of Elisabeth's eldest child, Landgrave Hermann II, Landgraf of Thuringia (1222–1241).

After bitter arguments over the disposal of her dowry, a conflict in which Konrad had been appointed as her defensor by Pope Gregory IX, Elisabeth left the court at Wartburg and moved to Marburg in Hesse. Popular tradition has it that she was cast out by Heinrich, but this does not stand up to critical examination.

Following her husband's death, Elisabeth made solemn vows to Konrad similar to those of a nun. These vows included celibacy, as well as complete obedience to Konrad as her confessor and spiritual adviser. Konrad's treatment of Elisabeth was extremely harsh, and he held her to standards of behavior which were almost impossible to meet. Among the punishments he is alleged to have ordered were physical beatings; he also ordered her to send away her three children. Her pledge to celibacy proved a hindrance to her family's political ambitions. In fact, Elisabeth was more or less held hostage at Pottenstein, Bavaria, the castle of her uncle, Bishop Ekbert of Bamberg, in an effort to force her to consider remarrying. Elisabeth, however, held fast to her vow, even threatening to cut off her own nose so that no man would find her attractive enough to marry.^[9]

Elisabeth's second child Sophie of Thuringia (1224-1275) married Henry II, Duke of Brabant and was the ancestress of the Landgraves of Hesse, since in the War of the Thuringian Succession she won Hesse for her son Heinrich I, called the Child. Elisabeth's third child, Gertrude of Altenberg (1227-1297), was born several weeks after the death of her father; she became abbess of the convent of Altenberg near Wetzlar.

After unsuccessful attempts to force her to remarry, she became affiliated with the Third Order of St. Francis, a lay Franciscan group, but perhaps without becoming an official Tertiary, and built a hospital at Marburg for the poor and the sick with the money from her dowry.

In 1231, Elisabeth died in Marburg at only twenty-four years of age, either from physical exhaustion due to Konrad's treatment, or from disease.

Legacy

Elisabethkirche in Marburg

Floorplan of Elisabethkirche

Elisabeth church Grave, The Netherlands

Very soon after the death of Elisabeth, miracles were reported that happened at her grave in the church of the hospital, especially miracles of healing. On the suggestion of Konrad, and by papal command, examinations were held of those who had been healed between August, 1232, and January, 1235. The results of those examinations was supplemented by a brief vita of the saint-to-be, and together with the testimony of Elisabeth's handmaidens (bound in a booklet called the Libellus de dictis quatuor ancillarum s. Elisabeth confectus), proved sufficient reason for the quick canonization of Elisabeth on 27 May 1235 in Perugia--no doubt helped along by her family's power and influence. Very soon after her death, hagiographical texts of her life appeared all over Germany, the most famous being Dietrich of Apolda's Vita S. Elisabeth, which was written between 1289 and 1297.

She was canonized by Pope Gregory IX in the year 1235. This papal charter is on display in the "Schatzkammer" of the Deutschordenskirche in Vienna, Austria. Her body was laid in a magnificent golden shrine--still to be seen today--in the Elisabeth Church (Marburg). It is now a Protestant church, but has spaces set aside for Catholic worship. Marburg became a center of the Teutonic Order which adopted St Elisabeth as its second patroness. The Order remained in Marburg until its official dissolution by Napoleon I of France in 1803.

Elisabeth is perhaps best known for the legend which says that whilst she was taking bread to the poor in secret, her husband asked her what was in the pouch; Elisabeth opened it and the bread turned into roses. This miracle is commemorated in almost all images of the saints--prayer cards, statues, paintings. One famous statue is in Budapest, in front of the neo-Gothic church dedicated to her at Roses' Square (Rózsák tere) [1].

Another popular story about St. Elisabeth, also found in Dietrich of Apolda's Vita, relates how she laid a leper in the bed she shared with her husband. When Ludwig discovered what she had done, he is said to have snatched off the bedclothes in great indignation, but at that instant "Almighty God opened the eyes of his soul, and instead of a leper he saw the figure of Christ crucified stretched upon the bed."

Elisabeth's shrine became one of the main German centers of pilgrimage of the 14th century and early 15th century. During the course of the 15th century, the popularity of the cult of St. Elisabeth slowly faded, though to some extent this was mitigated by an aristocratic devotion to St Elisabeth, since through her daughter Sophia she was an ancestor of many leading aristocratic German families. But three hundred years after her death, one of Elisabeth's many descendants, the Landgrave Philip I "the Magnanimous" of Hesse, a leader of the Protestant Reformation and one of the most important supporters of Martin Luther, raided the church in Marburg and demanded that the Teutonic Order hand over Elisabeth's bones, in order to disperse her relics and thus put an end to the already declining pilgrimages to Marburg. Philip also took away the crowned agate chalice in which St. Elisabeth's head rested, but returned it after being imprisoned by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The chalice was subsequently plundered by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years' War and is now on display at the National Museum in Stockholm. St Elisabeth's skull and some of her bones can be seen at the Convent of St Elisabeth in Vienna; some relics also survive at the shrine in Marburg.

In Portugal, the legend of the miracle of the roses is taught as having happened to Queen St. Elizabeth of Aragon (1271–1336, Raínha Santa Isabel), wife of King Denis of Portugal. When Portuguese tourists visit Germany or Hungary and are surprised to hear the same legend, it is explained to them that the Portuguese Queen, a granddaughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and his second wife, was named after her great-aunt.

The legends are very similar - the Portuguese Queen, when admonished by her husband that she was too generous with the poor who took advantage of her charity, let her folded apron fall and say "But they are only roses, my Lord!" and the bread became roses. Also, like her ancestor, she was a member of the Franciscan Third Order. This Elizabeth also had the reputation of being a very loving and kind person. Like her namesake, she is remembered today as a great saint who always cared for the sick, young, and those who live in poverty.

The year 2007 was proclaimed "Elisabeth Year" in Marburg. All year, events commemorating Elisabeth's life and works were held, culminating in a town-wide festival to celebrate the 800th anniversary of her birth on July 7, 2007. Pilgrims came from all over the world for the occasion, which ended with a special service in the Elisabeth Church that evening.

A new musical based on Elisabeth's life, "Elisabeth -- die Legende einer Heiligen" ["Elisabeth -- Legend of a Saint"], starring Sabrina Weckerlin as Elisabeth, Armin Kahn as Ludwig, and Chris Murray as Konrad, premiered in Eisenach in 2007. It was performed in Eisenach and Marburg for two years, and closed in Eisenach in July, 2009.^[10]^[11]

Gallery

From Sint Elisabethskerk, Grave, Netherlands	From Sint Elisabethskerk, Grave, Netherlands	From Sint Elisabethskerk, Grave, Netherlands	From Sint Elisabethskerk, Grave, Netherlands
German 10 Euro coin, 2007	The Elizabeth Bower, Wartburg.	Philip Hermogenes Calderon, St. Elizabeth of Hungary's Great Act of Renunciation (1891)

References

^ Catholic Encyclopedia, "St. Elizabeth of Hungary"
^ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/184889/Saint-Elizabeth-of-Hungary
^ Thorsten Albrecht and Rainer Atzbach, Elisabeth von Thüringen: Leben und Wirkung in Kunst und Kulturgeschichte (Petersberg: Michael Imhof Verlag, 2007), 7.
^ Norbert Ohler, Elisabeth von Thüringen: Fürstin im Dienst der Niedrigsten (Gleichen: Muster-Schmidt Verlag, 2006), 15.
^ Christian Zippert and Gerhard Jost, Hingabe und Heiterkeit: Vom Leben und Wirken der heiligen Elisabeth (Kassel: Verlag Evangelischer Medienverband, 2007), 9.
^ Ortrud Reber, Elisabeth von Thüringen, Landgräfin und Heilige (Regensburg: Pustet, 2006), 33-34.
^ Ortrud Reber, Elisabeth von Thüringen, Landgräfin und Heilige (Regensburg: Pustet, 2006), 58, 199 n. 14.
^ Rainer Koessling, ed. and trans., Leben und Legende der heiligen Elisabeth nach Dietrich von Apolda (Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag, 1997), 52.
^ Rainer Koessling, ed. and trans., Leben und Legende der heiligen Elisabeth nach Dietrich von Apolda (Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag, 1997), 59.
^ http://www.spotlightmusical.de/
^ http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_%E2%80%93_Die_Legende_einer_Heiligen_%28Musical%29

St. Elizabeth of Portugal: Queen Saint

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:35:00 +0100

Elizabeth of Aragon

For other persons named Isabella of Aragon, see Isabella of Aragon (disambiguation).

Saint Elizabeth of Portugal

Queen and Widow
Born	1271, Aljafería Palace, Zaragoza, Kingdom of Aragon^[1]
Died	4 July 1336, Estremoz Castle in Estremoz, Alentejo, Kingdom of Portugal
Canonized	25 May 1625, Rome by Pope Urban VIII
Major shrine	Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, Coimbra, Portugal^[1]
Feast	4 July; 8 July (1694–1969 calendars)
Patronage	Third Order of St Francis

Aragonese and Valencian Royalty
House of Barcelona

Alfonso II

Children include
Peter (future Peter II of Aragon)
Alfonso II, Count of Provence
Peter II
Children include
James (future James I of Aragon, Valencia and Majorca)
James I
Peter (future Peter III of Aragon and I of Valencia and Sicily)
James II of Majorca
Violant, Queen of Castile
Constance, Infanta of Castile
Isabella, Queen of France
Peter III (I of Valencia and Sicily)
Children include
Alfonso (future Alfonso III of Aragon and I of Valencia)
James (future James I of Sicily and II of Aragon and Valencia)
Frederick II of Sicily
Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal
Yolanda, Duchess of Calabria
Alfonso III (I of Valencia)
James II (I of Sicily)
Children include
Alfonso (future Alfonso IV of Aragon and II of Valencia)
Alfonso IV (II of Valencia)
Children include
Peter (future Peter IV of Aragon and II of Valencia)
Peter IV (II of Valencia)
Children include
Constance, Queen of Sicily
John (future John I of Aragon and Valencia)
Martin (future Martin II of Sicily and I of Aragon and Valencia)
Eleanor, Queen of Castile
Isabella, Countess of Urgel
Grandchildren include
Ferdinand (future Ferdinand I of Aragon, Valencia and Sicily)
Isabella, Countess of Urgel and Coimbra
John I
Yolande, Queen of France
Martin I (II of Sicily)

Saint Elizabeth of Portugal^[2] also known as Elizabeth of Aragon (1271 – 4 July 1336) (Elisabet in Catalan, Isabel in both Portuguese and Spanish) was queen consort of Portugal and is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.

Biography

Marriage

Saint Elizabeth showed an early enthusiasm for religion: she said the full Divine Office daily, fasted and did other penances, and attended twice daily choral masses.

Elizabeth was married when she was a mere 12 years old to King Denis of Portugal , a poet, and known as Rei Lavrador, or the farmer king, because he planted a large pine forest, near Leiria. The wood from these trees would later be used to make the ships during the discoveries. Elizabeth quietly pursued the regular religious practices of her maidenhood, and was devoted to the poor and sick. Naturally, such a life was a reproach to many around her, and caused ill will in some quarters. A popular story is told of how her husband's jealousy was roused by an evil-speaking page; of how he condemned the queen's supposed guilty accomplice to a cruel death; and was finally convinced of her innocence by the strange accidental substitution of her accuser for the intended victim.

They had two children, a daughter named Constance, who married King Ferdinand IV of Castile, and a son Afonso who later became King Afonso IV of Portugal. The latter so greatly resented the favors shown to the king's illegitimate sons that he rebelled, and in the year 1323 war was declared between him and his father. Elizabeth, however, reconciled her husband and son, and is known in consequence as the "peacemaker."

Dowager Queen

King Denis died in the year 1325, and his son Afonso succeeded him. Elizabeth then retired to the convent of the Poor Clares (now known as the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha) which she had founded in the year 1314 at Coimbra. She took the habit of the Franciscan Order, wishing to devote the rest of her life to the poor and sick in obscurity. But she was called forth to act once more as peacemaker. In 1336 Afonso IV marched his troops against the Alfonso XI of Castile, to whom he had married his daughter Maria, and who had neglected and ill-treated her. In spite of age and weakness, the queen dowager insisted on hurrying to Estremoz, where the two kings' armies were drawn up. She again stopped the fighting and caused terms of peace to be arranged. But the exertion brought on her final illness; and as soon as her mission was fulfilled she died of a fever on July 4, 1336 at Estremoz Castle.

St Elizabeth was buried at the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha in Coimbra, in a magnificent Gothic sarcophagus. In the early 17th century, her remains were transferred to a new sarcophagus made of silver and glass. After the monastery was abandoned due to frequent floods, her tomb was transferred to the new Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, Coimbra, where it can be visited today.

Elizabeth of Aragon, Museo Colonial de San Francisco. Santiago, Chile

Canonization and Feast Day

Miracles were said to have followed upon her death. She was canonized by Pope Urban VIII on 25 May 1625,^[3] and her feast was inserted in the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints for celebration on 4 July. In the year 1694 Pope Innocent XII moved her feast to 8 July, so it would not conflict with the celebration of the Octave of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles.^[4] In 1955 Pope Pius XII abolished this octave.^[5] The 1962 Roman Missal changed the rank of the feast from "Double" to "Third-Class Feast".^[6] The 1969 reform of the Calendar classified the celebration as an optional "Memorial" and restored it to the date of 4 July.

Family and Ancestors

She was named after her great-aunt Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, but was known in Portuguese and Spanish as "Isabel." She was the younger sister of King Alfonso III of Aragon and King James II of Aragon. She was also the older sister of King Frederick III of Sicily.

William VIII of Montpellier

Peter II of Courtenay

Yolande de Courtenay

Yolanda of Flanders

Elizabeth of Aragon

Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

Constance of Sicily

Manfred of Sicily

Manfred II Lanza (?)

Bianca, Countess of Lancia

Bianca Maletta (?)

Constantia of Hohenstaufen

Thomas I, Count of Savoy

Amadeus IV of Savoy

Marguerite of Geneva

Beatrice of Savoy

Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy

Anne of Burgundy

Elizabeth (Biblical person)

Saint Elizabeth
statue of Saint Elizabeth in the parish church of Memmelsdorfnear Bamberg, Franconiain northern Bavaria(Germany)
Righteous
Born	1st century BC
Died	1st century AD
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Anglican Church Lutheran Church Islam
Canonized	Pre-Congregation
Feast	November 5
Patronage	pregnant women dioceseof Fulda, Germany

Saint Elizabeth, also spelled Elisabeth or Elisheva(Hebrewאֱלִישֶׁבַע / אֱלִישָׁבַע "My Godis an oath", Standard HebrewElišévaʿ ~ Elišávaʿ, Tiberian HebrewʾĔlîšéḇaʿ ~ ʾĔlîšāḇaʿ) was the mother of St. John the Baptistand the wife of St. Zachary/Zacharias, according to the New Testamentand the Quran.

Relation to Mary

In Luke 1:36 (Kings James Version) of the Bible Elizabeth is described as a relative of Mary. The Greek word used is συγγενίς, which can refer to various forms of kinship.^[1] According to the Catholic Encyclopediatheir relation is given by St. Hippolytus, according to whom they are cousins; the mother of Elizabeth, Sobeand the mother of Mary, Saint Anneare sisters ^[2]. The mother of Mary is also known from another source, the infancy Gospel of James.

Some translations of this verse states their relations as relative ^[3] ^[4] , kinswoman ^[5] or 'of your family' ^[6] , others such as the King James, states that they are cousins. ^[7]

In The Bible

According to the Gospel of Luke, Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaronthe priest(Luke 1:5). She and her husband Zechariahwere "righteous before God, living blamelessly" (1:6), but childless. Zechariah was visited by the angelGabriel, who told him his wife would have a son who "will be great in the sight of the Lord" (1:15).

The pregnant Elizabeth was visitedby her relative, Mary (1:36), who was pregnant with Jesus:

And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb.

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost and she cried out with a loud voice:

"Blessed are thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." (1:41-42)

When Mary heard this she recited the Magnificat.

Elizabeth is not mentioned in the New Testament outside of the Gospel of Luke. Elizabeth is also mentioned in several books of the Apocrypha, most prominently in the Protevangelion of James, in which the birth of her son and the subsequent murder of her husband are chronicled.

Sainthood

Elizabeth is revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic Churchon November 5, and in the Orthodoxand Anglicantraditions on September 5, on the same day with her husband St. Zachary/Zechariah. She is commemorated as a matriarchin the Calendar of Saints(September 5) of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synodand Zechariah is commemorated as a prophet.^{[citation needed]}

Notes and references

^Henry George Liddell; and Robert Scott (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon. revised by Henry Stuart Jones and Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. s.v. συγγενίς, συγγενής. ISBN 0-19-864226-1.
^Catholic Encyclopedia
^Good News Bible, (Today's English Version) American Bible Society
^World English Bible
^American Standard Version, 1901
^Bible in Basic English
^King James

biblical-name

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Elizabeth Ann Seton

Contents

Biography

Recognition

Namesakes

Princess St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Elisabeth of Hungary

Contents

Early life and marriage

Widowed at the age of twenty

Legacy

Gallery

References

St. Elizabeth of Portugal: Queen Saint

Elizabeth of Aragon

Contents

Biography

Marriage

Dowager Queen

Canonization and Feast Day

Family and Ancestors

Contents

Relation to Mary

In The Bible

Sainthood

See also

Notes and references