VATICAN CITY, JULY 9, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Young St. Elizabeth of Hungary's witness of charity is valid today for her fellow countrymen, Europeans and faithful worldwide, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope said this in a letter sent to Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, primate of Hungary and president of the Council of the European Bishops Conferences, marking the 800th anniversary of the saint's birth.
The Holy Father said the festivities will be an opportunity "to offer to all of God's people and especially Europe the splendid witness of this saint, whose notoriety went far beyond her own country, involving many people including non-Christians throughout the continent."
Elizabeth was born in 1207 and followed the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi.
Called to marriage with Prince Louis VI of Thuringia, Elizabeth "did not cease to dedicate herself to the exercise of the evangelical virtues, which she had learned from the saint of Assisi," the Pope wrote. "She showed herself to be a true daughter of the Church, offering a concrete witness, visible and significant of Christ's charity."
Marriage and family
Innumerable persons, over the centuries, "have followed her example, looking to her as a model of exemplary Christian virtues, radically applied in marriage, the family and even in widowhood," said the Pope in his message, published on Saturday in Italian, Hungarian and German.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary -- who died when she was 24 years old -- "has also inspired political figures, who have drawn from her the motivation to work towards reconciliation between peoples," he continued.
Last Nov. 17 in Rome, the international year dedicated to Elizabeth of Hungary began, an initiative -- the Holy Father said -- that "is bringing a new stimulus to understand the spirituality" of the saint, "that calls out to her fellow citizens and inhabitants of the European continent about the importance of the lasting values of the Gospel."
Benedict XVI expressed his hope that a deeper awareness of the person and the work of St. Elizabeth of Hungary and Thuringia "may be a help in rediscovering, with ever greater awareness, the Christian roots of Hungary and of Europe itself, encouraging leaders to develop harmonious and respectful dialogue between the Church and civil society in order to build a truly free and united world."
The Holy Father also expressed his wish that this international year "be an occasion for Hungarians, Germans, and all Europeans ... to emphasize the Christian heritage they received from their forefathers, so as to continue to draw from those roots the energy necessary to achieve an abundant harvest in the new millennium that has just begun."
