November 2014 - St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Andrew Dung-Lac and companions

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

King’s daughter was devoted to the poor and sick

1207–1231
Feast day: November 17

Elizabeth’s short life was nonetheless full; she had a happy marriage and children, was a secular Franciscan, and was so devoted to the poor and sick that she gave away royal robes and founded hospitals. The daughter of a Hungarian king, Elizabeth married a nobleman of Thuringia, Louis, at age 14. He complained about the expense of her many charities until he witnessed a miracle involving Elizabeth, bread and roses. After he died during a Crusade, she became a Third Order Franciscan at Marburg, Germany, where she founded a hospital to care for the sick. Elizabeth, who was declared a saint in 1235, is the patron of bakers, young brides, widows, those falsely accused, countesses and secular Franciscans.

St. Andrew Dung-Lac and companions

Vietnamese martyrs endured torture for their faith

18th–19th centuries
Feast day: November 24

Andrews Dung-Lac was among the 117 Martyrs of Vietnam killed by government officials during persecutions to suppress European ideals and religious values in the 18th and 19th centuries. The groups consisted of 96 Vietnamese and 21 foreign missionaries (11 Spanish and 10 French); the martyrs were bishops, priests and laypeople, including a woman. They endured horrible tortures in prison before being beheaded, crucified, quartered or burned alive for refusing to deny their faith. Andrew, a Vietnamese educated in Catholicism, became a catechist and priest. He was arrested and imprisoned with his companion, St. Peter Thi; they were beheaded in 1839.

Northwest Catholic - Nov. 2014