St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a princess who dedicated her life to the poor. Her feast day is Nov. 17. | Wikimedia Commons

The Florida dioceses of Orlando, St. Petersburg and Pensacola-Tallahassee observed the Feast Day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary with posts to social media honoring the Hungarian princess who dedicated her life to charitable works. 

The Diocese of Orlando asked "St. Elizabeth, please pray for us!" and shared St. Elizabeth's most famous quote: "How could I wear a crown of gold when my Lord wears a crown of thorns, and He wears it for me!" in a Nov. 17 Facebook post. Nov. 17 is the Feast Day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, also known as St. Elizabeth of Thuringia.

Elizabeth was born in 1207 to the King of Hungary and Gertrude of Merania. At 14 she was married to Louis of Thuringia; the couple had three children. Although she was born a princess and married into a powerful family, she chose to lead a life of austerity, prayer and service to the poor, according to her biography on Catholic Online. She used her royal influence to further her charitable works, with her husband's full support, according to the biography.

It was Elizabeth and Louis's loving marriage that the Diocese of St. Petersburg honored with its commemoration posted to Facebook: “Today our Church remembers St. Elizabeth of Hungary who with her husband radically impacted the world around them by their generosity. They demonstrated the remarkable beauty of marriage when lived out in a spirit of complete entrustment to God and generosity to neighbor. May we be blessed in our diocese with many such marriages and may our couples look to the examples of St. Elizabeth and her husband.”

The Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee stated “Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the life and example of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a medieval noblewoman who responded to personal tragedy by embracing St. Francis’ ideals of poverty and service."  

When Elizabeth was only 20 years old, her husband was killed in the Crusades and her husband's family evicted her for "squandering the royal purse" helping the poor, according to Franciscan Media. However, because she was the mother of the legal heir of Thuringia, she was reinstated by her husband's supporters. Elizabeth then joined the Secular Order of Franciscans in 1228 and spent the rest of her life caring for the poor and sick at the hospital she founded in honor of St. Francis of Assisi.

She died at the age of 23 and was so popular that she was canonized just four years later, in 1235, by Pope Gregory IX. Her feast day is celebrated on Nov. 17. St. Elizabeth of Hungary is the patron saint of bakers, beggars, charities, and the death of children.