Welcome to the ONE AND ONLY Saturday matchup of Lent Madness 2025! Today in a battle between two popular saints with fascinating backstories, it's Elizabeth of Hungary vs. Felicity.
Yesterday, Emily Cooper trounced Dunstan 82% to 18% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen.
We'll see you at church for the First Sunday in Lent (Great Litany, anyone?) and then see you back here first thing Monday morning for the first full week of saintly action as Gregory the Great takes on Hugh of Lincoln.
Vote now!
Elizabeth of Hungary
Elizabeth of Hungary is one of those saints whose halo hangs on a frame of simplicity. Though her young marriage was a political exchange, as they often were in 1221, she and her husband, Louis, seemed to have a happy noble marriage. She was highly influenced by the new Third Order of Saint Francis and began to give much of their wealth away, and though Louis did not share her pious leanings, was not bothered by it and believed her actions would bring them eternal reward in the long run. Elizabeth took up the cause of the sick, the poor, the friendless, the lonely, and the homeless.
Elizabeth would bake bread, mend clothes, and take things to people in need; while her husband didn’t mind her sharing her time and talent with the peasants, other nobility believed that she was actively stealing from the castle. When she came upon Louis and others while they were out hunting and she was delivering bread, she was asked what was under her cloak. The first of her canonized miracles is that it was not bread that she had baked for the poor with the castle’s flour, but roses, that fell out from her cope. This sufficed for the questioning gentry and comforted Louis that his wife was doing God’s will with God’s protection.
When Louis died only six years into their marriage, Elizabeth was terribly grief stricken, and it’s not hard to imagine why. She and her husband lived a simple life of caring for each other, but more importantly, of caring for those who God loved. She may have become a princess when she married Louis, but when he died, she was given her dowry back and used it establish a hospital; even in her grief she saw beyond her own need.
Elizabeth is the patron saint of the Third Order of St. Francis and received a blessing from Saint Francis before his death in 1226. She was canonized just four years after her death, in the throes of caring for those in need, by Pope Gregory IX, and we remember her on November 19th. Her halo is a simple story of a life dictated by faith and nobility, by dedication and devotion, and most of all by love and compassion.
Collect for Elizabeth of Hungary
Almighty God, by your grace your servant Elizabeth of Hungary recognized and honored Jesus in the poor of this world: Grant that we, following her example, may with love and gladness serve those in any need or trouble, in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Felicity
In 203, in a small town just west of Carthage (in modern day Tunisia), a group of Christian catechumens was arrested. Felicity, along with five others, was transferred to Carthage to be tried in front of the emperor’s regent, Hilarianus. Her story, and that of her fellow martyrs, is told in the text of The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas.
Felicity is identified early in the text as a young slave woman. She was eight months pregnant when she was brought before the governor. Her crime was being a Christian.
Romans would not send a pregnant woman into the arena. Felicity and her friends were worried that she would not be allowed to join them in their martyrdom, being instead left to die with common criminals. They did not want Felicity to have to “travel alone on the same road to hope.”
Two days before their execution, they gathered together, filled with grief and in fervent prayer. Immediately after their prayer, Felicity went into a difficult labor. Her daughter was born and given to a fellow Christian who raised the girl as her own daughter.
Felicity was greatly relieved, as she would now be able to join the others in the arena. During games commemorating the fourteenth birthday of Geta, the younger son of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus, Felicity and the other catechumens were sent to the arena. As they approached the spectacle, The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas reports,
“With them also was Felicitas, glad that she had safely given birth so that now she could fight the beasts, going from one blood bath to another, from the midwife to the gladiator, ready to wash after childbirth in a second baptism.”
Wild beasts were unleashed on the men and a mad heifer was prepared for the women. The women were initially dragged naked in nets into the arena. Seeing their youth and that Felicity had so recently given birth, the crowd was horrified. The women were therefore clothed in unbelted tunics and forced to face the angry cow.
Miraculously, both Felicity and Perpetua survived being trampled. Felicity was injured but helped up by Perpetua. At once they were sentenced to death by the sword. Again from The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas,
“And so the martyrs got up and went to the spot of their own accord as the people wanted them to, and kissing one another they sealed their martyrdom with the ritual kiss of peace. [They] took the sword in silence and without moving.”
Felicity is a patron saint of mothers who have lost their children.
Collect for Felicity
O God, the King of Saints, who strengthened your servants Perpetua, Felicity, and their companions to make a good confession and to encourage one another in the time of trial: Grant that we who cherish their blessed memory may share their pure and steadfast faith, and win with them the palm of victory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
157 comments on “Elizabeth of Hungary vs. Felicity”
When Elizabeth slipped out the door
Her suspicious spouse thought he’d make sure
That her apron held roses
(So the legend supposes)
Not a gift of fresh bread for the poor.
Going with Felicity, since yesterday was her feast day (along w/ Perpetua).
Never voted but it already says I did. Like others, I too am wearied by the clunky voting system and losing interest.
I went with Elizabeth because I help people get, and keep SNAP benefits (food stamps) and therefore appreciate saints who help keep people fed. There are so many who fall through the cracks-- or just need help beyond what the government can give-- and therefore we need more Elizabeths today and always.
My Hungarian ancestry compelled me to lean towards Elizabeth but I really like Felicity as well.
Glad I am not alone in receiving the “Thank you for your vote” message. It is the second day in a row that I have gotten it when I had yet to vote and on day 1 my vote didn’t register and then got an error message that I couldn’t vote more than once when I tried to enter my vote again.
Love Lent Madness and I want to be able to vote 🙂
Get a message thank you for your vote before I had the option to vote
I’m told that I’ve already voted but I haven’t.
I didn’t vote yet I am being thanked for my vote.
I maintain my tradition of not, for the most part, voting for martyrs or those whose primary biographical attributes were having been abused or tortured. There is a theological place for that sort of pain, but in Lent Madness I prefer to focus on the lives and legacies of those who DID, and not those who were DONE UNTO (it's my college motto, so I guess it stuck). Especially folks in Felicity's era who were EXCITED to be martyred, I just can't vote for that.
Tried to vote got vote not allowed (error 2)
Hey! I didn’t vote, but it says I have! How did that happen??? Glitchy today! I would have voted for Felicity, patron saint for mothers who have lost children….
Something is rotten in Denmark!!
I begin to make my choice in the vote and….it says “thank you for your vote!
Who is voting in my place????????
This is a hard decision. I went with Felicity. These women were dedicated to one another. I encourage you to read their story.
For the second day in a row I am seeing "thank you for your vote" before I have voted.
To those of you who are having trouble voting: I'm using a Chrome browser on my laptop and having no trouble. Maybe it's just that the problem is fixed, but you might want to try a different browser if you continue to have problems.
I am not being allowed to vote. Yesterday and today when I get to the place to vote it says, “Thank you for your vote!” Can you please fix it so I can cast my own vote!! Thank You, Melodie
I am finding it difficult to not chastise (in the kindest possible way) those whose frustration with the voting glitches and gremlins is leading them to give up.
Please, just send a note with your vote and trust it will be added in good faith.
I keep wondering how I could live up to what any of these saints has done - inviting the wrath of the powerful or walking to my death. I pray for the strength to live into the true challenges that I encounter today.
Today's choice is impossible! I guess I will go with Felicity - with the hope that she will pray for me when I am forced to make a choice between my faith and those who think they rule the world.
Voted for Elizabeth of Hungary, but I feel terrible about the plight of Felicity and Perpetua. What is even the point of the story, when they had to fight in the arena but were murdered afterward anyhow? Just brutal and disheartening.
Wanted to vote Elizabeth but machine would only allow Felicity.
I grew up around the corner from an inner city church dedicated to Elizabeth of Hungary. I was in awe of the outreach that small community was able to do in our needy community. I vote for Elizabeth.
I read to the end and was ready to vote but it just said "thank you for your vote."
Todays post didn’t give me a chance to vote!
Tip for those who got the message “thank you for voting” before actually getting the chance to vote, if you are subscribed to Lent Madness: When I saw that message, I decided to try another way. I opened a new tab and went to lentmadness.org, where the erroneous message no longer appeared and I was able to vote. Maybe that will work for you, too!
I’ve been thanked for my vote and I haven’t voted!!! Please get this sorted! Thanks
I also got a thank you for your vote without ever voting
I am usually with the company that votes for a doer rather than a done unto. However, today Felicity spoke to me as I know several women who have lost children in childbirth, shortly thereafter, or who adopted children separated from their birth mothers through necessity.
Could not vote.
I could not decide so - hope it's not considered cheating - but checked the vote tally and voted for Felicity as she is behind
Never knew there was a patron saint for those who have lost children and will pass that on next time I know someone who has miscarried
Once again I was initially not allowed to vote and then told “thank you for your vote”.