ELIZABETH
388
ELIZABETH
Hippolytus (in Niceph. Call., Hist. Eccles., II, iii) ex-
plains that Sobe and Anna their mothers were sisters,
and that Sobe had married a " son of Levi ' '. Whether
this indication, probably gathered from some apocry-
phal writings, and later on adopted by the compilers
of the Greek Menologium, is correct, cannot be ascer-
tained. Elizabeth, like Zachary, was "just before
God, walking in all the commandments and justifica-
tions of the Lord without blame" (Luke, i, 6). She
had been deprived, however, of the blessings of moth-
erhood until, at an ad-
vanced age, a son was
promised her by the
Angel Gabriel (Luke, i,
8-20). When, five
months later, Elizabeth
was visited in her home
by the Virgin Mary, not
only was her son sancti-
fied in her womb, but
she herself was enlight-
ened from on high to
salute her cousin as " the
mother of my Lord"
(Luke, i, 4.3). Accord-
ing to some modern
critics, we should even
attribute to herthe can-
ticle "Magnificat".
After the birth and
circumcision of John
the Baptist, the Gos-
pels do not mention
Elizabeth any more.
Her feast is celebrated
on S .September by the
Greeks, and 5 Novem-
ber in the Latin Church.
ViGOURorx, Diet, dc li
Bible (Paris. 1898). s. v.;
Calmet. Diet, de la Bible:
Real enty. prol. Thfol. (I9m I,
XII. 71 sqq.; BlRN in Diet,
of Christ and the Gospels
(New York, 1908). s. v.
Magnificat. II, lOl-UVi;
B.1RDENHEWER. BMische
Studien (1901). VI. 187.
Ch.\RLES L..SOUVAY
Elizabeth, Sistkhs OF S.\INT, generally styled "Grey Nuns". They sprang from an association of young ladies established by Dorothea Klara Wolff, in connexion with the sisters, Mathilde and Maria Merkert, and Franziska Werner, 1842, inNeisse (Prus- sia), to tend in theirown homes, without compensation, helpless sick persons who could not or would not be re- ceived into the hospitals. The members purposed to support the needy through the labour of their own hands. Without adopting any definite rule, they led a community life and wore a common dress, a brown woollen habit with a grey bonnet. For this reason they were soon called by the people the " Grey Nuns". As their work was soon recognized and praised every- where, and as new members continually applied for admission, their spiritual advisers sought to give the association some sort of religious organization. They endeavoured, wherever possible, to affiliate it with already established confraternities having similar pur- poses. But their foremost desire was to educate the members for the care of the sick in hospitals. Cireat difficulties arose, and the attempt failed, principally through the resistance of the foundres,ses, who did not wish to abandon their original plan of itinerant nurs- ing. Thus the as.sociation which had justified such bright hopes was dissolved, and many of the newly ad-
mitted members joined the Sisters of St. Charles Bor-
romeo, while the foundresses left the novitiate which
they had already entered. Klara Wolff and Mathilde
Merkert died shortly after, in the service of charity.
The other two began their work anew in 1850 and
placed it under the especial patronage of St. Elizabeth.
They speedily gained the sympathy of the sick of all
classes and creeds, and also that of the physicians.
New candidates applied for admission, and the sis-
ters were soon able to extend the sphere of their
activity beyond Neisse.
Of especial importance
was the foundation
made at Breslau, where
tlie work of the sisters
came under the direct
■ 'bservation of the epis-
mpal authorities. Soon
after, 4 Sept., 1859,
Prince-Bishop Heinrich
I'orster was prevailed
upon by the favourable
reports and testimo-
nials to grant the associ-
ation ecclesiastical ap-
probation. As such a
recognition presup-
posed a solid religious
organization, a novitiate
was established accord-
ing to the statutes sub-
mitted. In the following
year the twenty-four
eldest sisters made the
three religious vows.
State recognition, with
the grant of a corpor-
ation charter, was ob-
tained by the confrater-
nity 25 May, 1864, under
the title,"" Catholic
Charitable Institute of
St. P^lizabeth", through
the mediation of the
Prussian Crown-Prince
Frederick William, sub-
sec juent Emperor of
( Jcrmany, who had ob-
.served the beneficent
activity of the sisters
on the battle-fields of
Denmark. The appro-
bation of the Holy See
was granted for the con-
gregation on 26 Jan.. 1887, and for its constitutions
on 26 April, 1898. The congregation has spread to
Norway, Sweden, and Italy, and has (1908), dependent
on the mother-house at Breslau, 305 filial houses, with
2565 sisters and about 100 postulants.
Heimbucher, Orden und Kongregationen (Paderborn, 1908), III. 389: JuNGNiTz, Die Kongr. der grauen Schweslem (Breslau. 1892 1; Kdnig in KircJienlex., s. v. Elisabelherinnen.
Elizabethans. See Third Order op St. Francis.
Elizabeth Associations (Elisabethenvereine^, char- itable associations of women in Germany which aim for the love of Christ to minister to the bodily and spiritual sufferings of the sick poor and of neglected children. On 10 December, 1842, eight ladies of Munich formed a society, of which the Princess Leo- poldine von Lowenstein was the head, for the purpose of visiting and aiding the sick poor in their homes. In 1851 it was made a religious congregation to which many infiulgences were granted by the Holy Father. In order to carry on better the visiting of the sick the first branch or conference of the association was founded in 1870. According to its statutes the mem- bers are divided into two classes: associate members.
