Elizabeth and Ludwig were married it 1221, she at the age of 14 and he was 21. They lived in a castle at Wartburg which dominated the town from the top of a hill. About this same time Elizabeth came under the influence of St. Francis of Assisi who sent missionaries to that area proclaiming the message of peace and goodness (pax et bonum). Elizabeth began her care of the poor and sick from atop the hill at Wartburg, giving them food and clothing. She even sold her royal jewelry to be able to provide for the poor and needy. Since many were not able to climb the hill, she began a hospital at the bottom of the hill, ministering to beggars and lepers and distributing many loaves of bread. Her husband encouraged her, though he was worried about her health
One of the legends about Elizabeth is that her husband Ludwig met her one day in the streets as she was taking loaves of bread to the needy. He asked her what she had under the cloak and when she showed him, it was not bread at all, but red and white roses and in the month of December. Ludwig then knew that what she was doing, helping the poor, was God's will for her.
Elizabeth never met St. Francis of Assisi, but Francis knew of her good work in Wartburg and at the suggestion of the Pope, sent her one of his Franciscan habits which she wore from then on underneath her simple clothing. Three children were born to Elizabeth and Ludwig: Hermann, named for her father-in-1aw; Sofie, named for her mother-in-law; and Gertrude, named for her mother. There is a legend about a fourth child but no supporting documentation.
On his way to the Crusades, Ludwig died on September 11, 1227 and Elizabeth got news of this late in November; she was 20. Elizabeth moved to the Castle of Marburg and joined the lay ministers of St. Francis, called the third order. She began building a hospital in Marburg, again at the bottom of the hill and she moved from the castle to take up residence in the hospital. Marriages were arranged for her children and she devoted all her time to caring for the poor and sick. She died early in the morning on Monday, November 17,1231, shortly after midnight at the age of 24.
Almost immediately the process was begun to have her proclaimed a saint and on Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 1235, Pope Gregory iX canonized St. Elizabeth of Hungary. The foundation stone of a new church in Marburg, dedicated to her, was laid the same year and her body was placed in that church one year later as the church was completed. Her relics were late dug up and desecrated during the reformation and counter-reformation of the 16th century and we are unsure of exactly where her bones are, though several places claim to have them including the church of Marburg.
Witnesses said: "God was always first with Elizabeth, and then came those she felt called to serve, and lastly me." To her, all that we had given up was little in comparison to what the son of God had renounced for her.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary is the Patroness of Hospitals, and of Catholic charities; her feast day is November 17th.