Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

(My visit to the Wartburg Castle)

The Wartburg Castle, the home of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, can still be visited and is near the city of Eisenach in the eastern part of Germany. The Wartburg is also the place where Martin Luther, many years later, hid while translating the Bible after his break with the Catholic Church.

Early Years
Princess Elizabeth of Hungary was sent to the Wartburg Castle, Thuringia, in present day Germany, when she was only four years old. Her marriage had been arranged by her parents, King Andrew II of Hungary (1205-1235) and his wife, Gertrude and the Landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia. Elizabeth was brought up at the court at the Wartburg Castle and was said to be a child who loved to pray and give her clothes and food to the poor even at a very early age. When the eldest son, her betrothed, Hermann, died she was then betrothed to the next eldest son, Ludwig (also called, Louis). His father, the Landgrave Hermann I died in 1217, and Ludwig became the new Landgrave. Elizabeth and Ludwig were married in 1221 when Ludwig was 21 and Elizabeth was only 14. Their marriage was a happy one and Ludwig supported his wife's charitable acts.

Stories of Elizabeth
In this same year as their marriage (1221) the followers of St. Francis of Assisi, known as Franciscans, came to Germany and four years later the Landgravine Elizabeth had a monastery built for them. She became a Secular Franciscan (or Third Order Franciscan) which is still an option to those who are married as well as for single persons.
Elizabeth also built a hospital near the Wartburg to treat the poor and it is reported that she washed and treated the wounds of the patients herself.

The most famous story told of Elizabeth is when she took leftover bread from the Castle to the patients at the hospital. Her brother-in-law, who did not approve of her charitable acts and thought she wasted money from the royal coffers, passed nearby. The bread she was carrying appeared to him as roses so that he could not accuse her of taking bread from the tables of the Wartburg for the poor peasants.

In 1227 Ludwig started out on a Crusade with Frederick II but fell ill at Otranto, Italy and died there. When Elizabeth heard of his death she cried out, "The world with all its joys is now dead to me."

Drastic Changes
There are two accounts of what happened to Elizabeth after her husband’s death. One is that she was driven from the Castle by her brother-in-law, Heinrich Raspe, who was regent for her 5 year old son. The other account says that Elizabeth left the Wartburg because Heinrich did not allow her to continue her acts of piety and the life that she felt honoured God. She spent the remaining years of her life in a monastery although her brother-in-law tried to get her to remarry. Her children were brought up by others. The eldest and only boy, Hermann II (1222-41), died at a young age. Sophia (1224-84) married Henry II, Duke of Brabant, and was the ancestress of the Landgraves of Hesse. Gertrude (1227-97), Elizabeth's third child, was born several weeks after the death of her father; she became the abbess of the convent of Altenberg near Wetzlar.
On May 28, 1235, which was Pentecost Sunday, Elizabeth of Hungary was canonized by Pope Gregory IX in a ceremony at Perugia, Italy. She has been called ‘the greatest woman of the German Middle Ages’. In the same year construction on the Gothic church of St. Elizabeth was completed at Marburg, Germany and her remains were moved to rest there.
In 1539, Philip the Magnanimous, Landgrave of Hesse, who was a Protestant, put an end to the pilgrimages to the Church and removed the relics of St. Elizabeth.
Since the re-unification of Germany, pilgrimages to the Wartburg at Eisenach and to the church of St. Elizabeth in Marbourg have resumed and many in Germany and Austria continue to call her the ‘dear St. Elizabeth’.

St. Edmund Campion, Martyr

In 1566, Queen Elizabeth I visited the University of Oxford.  The visit lasted six days and, although she  had to listen to innumerable speeches in Latin, Greek and English, they were somewhat lightened by a few plays and presentation of degrees.  

Edmund Campion, Student

On the third day, Edmund Campion, then 26 years old, spoke on the relationship of the tides and the moon – an unusual subject for a divinity student. There were strict limits to the debate topics; they were not to touch on the subject of the Queen's religion.  Oxford,  particularly Campion's college of St. John, was known to be pro-Catholic.  In any case, Campion had taken the Oath of Supremacy which meant he regarded the Queen, and not the Pope, as the head of the English Church.  When the Queen left Oxford, Campion had earned the patronage of the Earl of Leicester and some even looked on him as a possible future Archbishop of Canterbury.

After receiving deacon's orders in the Anglican Church, Campion suffered a 'remorse of conscience' and returned to Catholic doctrine.  He left England for Ireland in 1569 and was to be involved in the establishment of the University of Dublin.  There he wrote his 'History of Ireland', now considered an English-slanted version of Irish history.

 Campion's Spiritual Search

His Catholic sympathies deepened and in 1571, Campion left Ireland secretly for Douai, then in the Spanish Netherlands, now in France, he was re-admitted to the Catholic Church and received the Eucharist for the first time in twelve years.  He was granted the Bachelor of Divinity by the University of Douai in 1573 and travelled to Rome where he entered the Jesuit novitiate.  The course of his life had drastically changed.

Edmund Campion, Jesuit and Priest

The Jesuit Mission to England began in 1580 for the purpose of providing English Catholics with the sacraments and Mass.  It was illegal to attend Mass in England and everyone who did not attend the Anglican service was fined a shilling.  For those clerics and officials who refused to say an oath of submission to the Queen's spiritual supremacy, the first penalty was the loss of material goods but after the third refusal, the penalty was death.  It was also considered high treason to reconcile anyone to the Roman Church.  The enforcement of these and other rules was inconsistent and depended on informers, but clearly England was not a safe place for a Jesuit priest!

The object of the mission was for the preservation of the Faith of the Catholics in England and the Jesuits were strictly warned not to proselytize among the Protestants. They were also forbidden by their Superiors to become involved in politics or the state.  English Catholics were encouraged to obey the Queen in civil matters but not spiritual. 

The Jesuits entered England in disguise and stayed in the houses of prominent Catholic families.   Most of the houses had secret cupboards where Mass vestments, missals and Communion vessels were kept but these 'priest holes' were often large enough to hide the priest himself if there was a raid by professional priest-hunters.

At Mass at the Yate's house in Lyford, one of the priest hunters, Mr. George Eliot, had been present.  After Mass, he left the home and went for the magistrate at which time the three priests, including Campion, were hidden in the secret chamber.  When Eliot returned with the authorities there was a thorough search and the Jesuits were found and charged.  

Edmund Campion, Martyr

Campion was put in the Tower and later tortured.  In the presence of the Queen, he was offered a bishopric if he renounced his Catholic faith but he adamantly refused.  Edmund Campion was charged on October 31 with having conspired to raise sedition in England and dethrone the Queen.  He was condemned to death as a traitor and hanged on December 1, 1581.

His last words were, "In condemning us, you condemn all your own ancestors, all our ancient bishops and kings, all that was once the glory of England – the island of saints, and the most devoted child of the See of Peter."

Hill of Crosses

In 1831 in Lithuania, simple hill covered with weeds was transformed into a memorial to those who had been killed or deported to Siberia during an anti-Russian uprising. People began to put up crosses and soon hundreds of crosses covered the hill. During subsequent wars and persecution crosses on the hill continued to multiply over the years.
The Soviet Era (1940-1990)
After WWII when the Soviet authorities took power in Lithuania, people’s freedom to worship was severely curtailed. Again people were sent to cold and miserable conditions in the work camps of Siberia for minor disobediences. As crosses appeared on the hill, the new Communist government declared the place ‘forbidden’ and trespassers were punished. At one point authorities destroyed the crosses in order to extinguish the ‘ religious fanaticism’.
In 1956 people started to return home from Siberia. In thanks to God for their return and in memory of the torture they underwent, they again planted crosses on the hill. The site not only symbolized resistance to violence but also their faith in God.
In 1961 the Soviet government bulldozed the area, burned the wooden crosses and buried the stone crosses. The government destroyed the hill four times. Once in frustration at the appearance of new crosses they flooded the area turning the hill into an island. One cross was put up with the inscription ‘Jesus, do not punish the villains for they do not know what they are doing.”

A Place for Pilgrims and Tourists
After the end of Communist rule in Lithuania (1990)the Hill of Crosses continued to grow. Today pilgrims and tourists from all over the world come to see this emotional site. Many visitors leave a cross behind as a prayer for someone. The total number of crosses is estimated at 100,000 but that number increases every day. In 1993 Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass at the site and left a cross.
The Hill of Crosses is both a symbol of heroic resistance to Communist atheism and a symbol of Lithuanian faith in God and freedom.
The Hill of Crosses is located northwest of Vilnius near the city of ƾiauliai. Within walking distance is a large Franciscan Monastery (built in 2000) where Masses are regularly held.
Sources
Wright, Kevin J. Catholic Shrines of Central and Eastern Europe. Liguori, Miss: Liguori Publications. 1999
Varanka, Antanas. Kryziu Kalnas (Hill of Crosses). Vilnius:Leidykla Anvara. 2009

Jerzy Popieluszko: A 20th Century Martyr

What were you doing in 1984? Were you using your new Apple personal computer which had just been put on sale in the US? Or were you watching The Space Shuttle Discovery take off on its maiden voyage? Perhaps you watched the winter Olympics in Sarajevo or the summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

While we were doing these rather mundane tasks, Polish workers were standing up to the Communist government in their country in what was called ‘the Solidarity Movement’. Some were imprisoned and others were killed for doing so. We occasionally heard news about Lech Walesa, and even about the visit of the new Polish Pope, John Paul II, to his country. But have you ever heard of Father Jerzy Popieluszko? Probably not. Most of the world did not hear all the events that took place in Poland at that time.

First let’s go back in history a bit further in order to better understand the events of 1984 -1989 in Eastern Europe.

World War II And After
In September 1939 Hitler’s Germany and Russia both invaded Poland and divided Poland between them. Germany later broke the agreement and invaded the Soviet territory causing Russia to join the Allies against Hitler.

During this terrible war three million Polish Jews died in the Holocaust and three million Polish non-Jews died in battle, in concentration camps and by execution.
But Poland’s suffering did not end when World War II ended. Poland, and other countries, were handed over to the Soviet Union by the Allied leaders who met at Yalta (1945). During the next 44 years of Russian occupation the Catholic Church in Poland was persecuted by propaganda campaigns and constant spying by secret police. Poles, even those who were not particularly religious before, looked to the Church as the center of their struggle for justice. Because of the strength of the Polish Church, the Soviets had to allow a certain amount of freedom to it which they did not in the other European countries they occupied. When Karol Wojtyla, the young Bishop of Krakow, was elected Pope in 1978, Poles celebrated with joy as they realized God had not forgotten them. But Communist leaders were very worried about the outcome. They feared that the Polish Church could become a huge problem.

Popieluszko’s Early Life
On Sept 14, 1947 a farmer and his wife in the small village of Okopy, welcomed their fifth child whom they named Alfons. A few years earlier, his mother had prayed that one of her sons would become a priest.
From the time he was seven the boy served as an altar boy in his parish church and, although he was not a brilliant student, he worked hard at his studies. His hero was Maximillian Kolbe, the priest who had sacrificed his life for another prisoner while in the Auschwitz concentration camp. At seventeen Jerzy Popieluscko (who by this time had changed his first name) applied to a seminary in Warsaw. Popieluszko was ordained in 1972 and served as a parish priest in the Diocese of Warsaw. Because he had a number of health problems; hyperthyroidism, anaemia and Addison’s Disease, he was frequently hospitalized but he still managed to fulfil his duties as a parish priest.

The Solidarity Movement
In 1980 he was asked to say Mass for striking steelworkers in Warsaw and he became the first priest to enter the front gates at the steel plant. Father Jerzy later told of this experience, “I was quaking. How would the workers receive me? Would there be a place appropriate for saying Mass? ... And then as I approached the gate, I was astonished. The crowds were smiling and crying and clapping. At first I thought there was somebody important behind me. But they were clapping for me - the first priest in the history of this plant to enter through the main gate. But it seemed to me that this applause was for the Church, which has been knocking at the gates of industrial plants over the past thirty years.” (from Companion booklet produced by Focus Producers and Ignatius Press and distributed with the DVD, Popieluszko).
As the chaplain of the Solidarity movement he not only said Masses but heard confessions, arranged for a regular pilgrimage for workers, travelled to Gdansk, led the public praying of the Rosary and organized relief effort and financial assistance for families of imprisoned workers. More than that, he became their friend.

Persecution and Martyrdom
The Polish government began to take notice of this young priest and had spies follow him everywhere. His sermons were taped and photos were taken during the Masses. Father Jerzy named his little dog, Snitch, in mockery of the secret police who constantly watched his apartment. False stories about Fr. Jerzy, which suggested scandal, were printed in newspapers and his apartment was bombed. In 1983 anti-government pamphlets and other material were planted in his apartment and ‘found’ during a search. He was promptly arrested and put into prison but Church officials were able to get him freed.
After an attempt to kill him in a car accident failed, Father Jerzy was kidnapped on October 13, 1984. Ten days later his badly beaten body was found in the Vistula River. A vigil of prayers for him had been kept by the people for those ten days and Masses had been said for him every hour. The grief of the people was kept under control by the public praying of the words, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. The gatherings remained peaceful.

The Funeral
Father Jerzy’s funeral was the largest gathering of people in Poland since the Papal Masses during John Paul II’s visits. The leader of the Solidarity Movement, Lech Walesa, was permitted to speak in public to the 400,000 mourners. He said, “Solidarity is alive because you have given your life for it.”

The Struggle Ends
The non-violent struggle for freedom continued until 1989. Through the efforts of Pope John Paul II and other leaders in the free world, Communism in Eastern Europe finally ended. Poland was the first country to gain freedom.
Father Jerzy Popieluszko was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on June 6, 2010. His grave is near the parish church, St. Stanislaw Kostka, in Warsaw where he served as a priest.

Sources

Ignatius Press and Focus Producers DVD Popieluszko: Freedom is Within Us. Directed by Rafal Wieczynski and starring Adam Woronowicz as Jerzy Popieluszcko. and Collector’s Companion Booklet. 2013
Museum website http://www.popieluszko.net.pl/english/muzeum_eng/index_eng.htm
Personal Travel notes.
Photos by L. Shelstad ©2013.