ST ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY AND THE PROPER USE OF WEALTH

Fr Billy Swan

Pope Leo’s prayer intention for the month of November is: “For the Proper use of Wealth’. Consistent with Catholic Social teaching that does not condemn wealth, the intention of the Holy Father is that all who are blessed with greater material resources than others might learn to live with a detached heart, capable of recognising that every good is meant to be shared, and to transform our resources into instruments of fraternity, service, and mercy. On 17^th November each year, the Church celebrates the feast day of a saint who was blessed with material wealth but who used her influence and resources to help as many as she could.

Elizabeth of Hungary, was born in 1207 into the Hungarian royal family, the daughter of King Andrew II. She was raised in the royal court, surrounded by privilege and comfort, but from a young age, her heart was draw to the poor. She stood out from other members of her family with her simplicity, generosity and genuine concern for those in need. She sought out opportunities to serve others and had a sharp social conscience.

From a young age, she was betrothed and later married to Louis of Thuringia and their marriage was stable and happy. He supported her missions of charity and together they lived their vocations with integrity, seeing power and wealth not as privileges but as responsibilities. With the support of her husband, who later became a saint himself, with prudent determination she mobilised finance to provide food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless and care for the sick. She built hospitals and opened the palace doors during a time of famine. In providing for the needs of the poor and the sick, she drew close to them personally and built relationships of trust that removed barriers between herself and those she sought to serve. After her husband’s death during the Crusades, she intensified her works of charity. She joined the Third Order Franciscans, becoming one of the most influential Franciscan tertiaries.

Elizabeth died in 1231, at only 24 years old. Such was her reputation for holiness that she was canonised a saint only four years later. She is honoured as the patron saint of the poor, widows, hospitals, nursing homes and Catholic charities.

In the prayer composed for his intention, ‘For the Proper Use of Wealth’, Pope Leo XIV acknowledges that having wealth and seeking wealth can “harden our hearts, lock us in selfishness, and make us forget the most vulnerable…You remind us Lord, that true wealth is not found in what we keep, but in what we give with love. A heart detached from possessions transforms the world: it opens paths of justice, tears down walls of indifference, and sows hope among the poor”.

St Elizabeth of Hungary is someone who embodied this prayer. For her, having wealth did not lock her in selfishness nor make her forget the most vulnerable. Her heart was detached from her possessions in a way that opened up a path to encounter the people of her kingdom, especially the downtrodden and poor. Her life was and remains a beacon of hope for the whole Church.

Elizabeth and her husband Louis of Thuringia are one of the small number of married couples who became canonised saints. For today’s married Christians who still believe that holiness is reserved for others but not them, they are a refreshing sign of hope and testify how joint commitment to the corporal works of mercy can strengthen and renew a marriage relationship.

Elizabeth also testifies to how the proper use of wealth removes barriers and brings us closer to others in compassion and understanding. As a royal figure, she was not content to make laws of justice and equity within her palace walls and hope that this would be enough. Rather, she realised that the State cannot institutionalise love because while a political system operates through bureaucratic laws, charity demands direct, loving personal concern. Even the most perfect political structure cannot replace or automate human compassion.

This essential point was underlined by the late Pope Benedict XVI in his encyclical ‘Deus Caritas Est…God is Love’ in 2005. There he argues that while the State must work to establish a just society, it must also leave space for individuals and the Church to practice independent charitable works. Love will always remain necessary, and trying to eliminate it through state institutionalisation only strips away human dignity.

That is why people like St Elizabeth of Hungary will always be needed. This is why the voluntary section of society is so important and why society itself becomes more humane when people of faith and mercy, commit themselves to the immediate needs of people who have fallen by the wayside, for whatever reason and who hunger for the assurance that someone cares.

May the life of St Elizabeth of Hungary teach us to use the material things we have, to serve the common good in a way that builds bridges of communion and friendship and love with all.